PET approved by CMS for diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease

On September 15, 2004, CMS approved Positron Emission Tomography (PET) as an indication for the work up of Alzheimers disease (AD) and Fronto- temporal Dementia (FTD). The Medicare patients have to have certain preconditions met for reimbursement.

The following is a case history of a patient studied recently at the Baptist Memorial Hospital - Memphis. This patient's markedly abnormal PET scan emphasizes the often limitations of clinical examination and the ability of PET scanning in diagnosing AD. There is a plethora of literature on AD. A large study at UCLA comprising of 138 patients studied with PET showed the sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 76% for PET Imaging. (JAMA, November 7, 2001; vol. 286, no. 17 pg. 2120-2127).

FDG PET imaging is available at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis and DeSoto. Patients can be scheduled by calling:

BMH-Memphis (901) 226-1355 or
BMH-DeSoto (662) 772-2100.