Myeliviz is the name of a new imaging agent approved for a clinical trial in the U.S. It has the potential to make the process of diagnosing multiple sclerosis faster and tracking the disease progression easier. Myeliviz does this by providing doctors with a better picture of damaged myelin — the cause of many of our MS symptoms.
The procedure is similar to that of an MRI with contrast. Myeliviz is a radiotracer, a chemical compound containing a small amount of radioactive material. It’s injected intravenously and penetrates the blood-brain barrier, seeking the myelin and lighting it up. Positron emission tomography, commonly referred to as a PET scan, takes a picture of the nerves and their myelin coating. Areas that fail to light up, or “dark spots,” on that picture indicate areas of myelin damage.
Earlier diagnosis, better tracking
MS can damage the central nervous system before any symptoms are noticed. But the researchers at Case Western Reserve University who developed Myeliviz hope that by using this procedure, doctors will be able to see that damage before those symptoms appear. With an earlier MS diagnosis, treatment could begin sooner. Use of this imaging agent would also allow better tracking of disease progression.
“Myelin has never been directly imaged before,” says Yanming Wang, a co-inventor of Myeliviz and professor of radiology at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. “Our technique is the first to do so, and we are hopeful that this will provide earlier and more accurate diagnosis of MS.”
Will it replace the MRI?
The Case Western University researchers hope that using Myeliviz during a PET scan may be able to supplement, or even replace, an MRI because MRIs can only view myelin indirectly. “This research offers a promising new approach to directly and specifically assess myelin in the brain and spinal cord,” says Dr. Robert Fox, vice chair for research in Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute, where the clinical trial will be held. “We expect that it will enable clinicians to more unambiguously diagnose MS and monitor disease progression and repair processes.”
Will patients be OK with this?
There’s been some concern, over the past few years, about the use of contrast material during MRIs. People have worried, following a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory, that a small amount of the contrast agent gadolinium may collect in the brain following numerous MRI scans. I wonder whether there might be a similar concern about a procedure that involves a radiotracer as a diagnostic tool. I would hope not. PET scans and radiotracers have been used for many years. But in this era when people refuse to receive measles vaccines, I have to wonder.
What do you think?
(A version of this post first appeared on the multiple sclerosis news today website).
