DuPage Medical Group enrolling patients for national study

DOWNERS GROVE - Specialists from DuPage Medical Group are enrolling qualified patients for a new study on dementia.

Through the research, high-tech PET imaging is being utilized to help detect the core feature of Alzheimer's and other dementias.

DMG is one of only four groups in Illinois participating in the IDEAS (Imaging Dementia - Evidence for Amyloid Scanning) study. DMG is one of the first health care providers in the country to enroll patients and complete an amyloid PET scan.

An amyloid is an accumulation of proteins in the brain that are toxic to brain cells and potentially lead to Alzheimer's and other neurological disease. IDEAS is a four-year research project that seeks to demonstrate the usefulness of amyloid PET imaging and represents a potential major advancement in the clinical assessment of people with cognitive impairment. Researchers hope to identify, enroll and examine more than 18,000 Medicare patients for IDEAS. The study hopes to improve outcomes for patients suffering with dementia, including diagnosis and treatment management. The study is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association and managed by the American College of Radiology and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network.

IDEAS is not recruiting patients directly. Candidates are being identified and enrolled by DMG board-certified neurologist and dementia specialist Dr. Chris Simon.

If you or someone you care for is a Medicare patient suffering from dementia, talk to your neurologist to see if you may qualify for the IDEAS study. Learn more about the study protocol at IDEAS-Study.org.

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