Study backs Apomate for imaging heart cell death:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The feasibility of using Theseus Imaging's Apomate kit to visualise cell death in heart attack patients is supported by a Dutch study published in The Lancet (July 15). Dr Leo Hofstra and colleagues from the University Hospital in Maastricht treated seven acute myocardial infarction patients with balloon angioplasty and two hours later gave them an injection of Apomate (technetium-99m-labelled annexin-V), which targets phosphatidylserine released during apoptosis. In six of the seven patients, the area of the infarct was clearly visible in SPECT images of the heart. The researchers said the technique may be useful to help assess interventions that inhibit apoptosis in myocardial infarction patients.