Siemens Medical Solutions has revealed its vision for a new world of medicine where doctors can predict and prevent disease before symptoms appear. By identifying and tracking disease-related events in the body's cells, Siemens envisions that, among other applications, molecular medicine will have a tremendous impact on the detection of Alzheimer's disease, and the effectiveness of stem cell therapy.

According to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, the disease strikes approximately five million Americans and costs the country nearly $100 billion a year for associated healthcare. Currently, clinicians have no direct method to diagnose Alzheimer's disease with 100 percent accuracy, but rather use "probable" diagnoses based on mental and cognitive examinations.

Currently, even the most effective drug therapies for Alzheimer's only slow down the progression of the disease when discovered very early, and a complete cure is not available. Important characteristics of Alzheimer's disease are the accumulation of a protein plaque, called Beta-amyloid, in the brain tissue and the formation of tangles inside neurons. With imaging biomarkers - small molecular tracers that monitor biological processes - it will be possible to detect both plaques and neuronal tangles to predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease years before symptoms appear. This will not only allow earlier treatment, but also enable the development of better drugs that effectively block, or even reverse, the progression of the disease.
Siemens also envisions that molecular imaging will play a pivotal role in the effectiveness of stem cell therapy. Scientists predict remarkable medical therapies using stem cell's theoretical capability to repair, regenerate, or grow almost any type of tissue or organ. However, to be effective clinicians will need to follow the cells through the body. By tracking stem cell location, behavior and make-up, molecular imaging can monitor whether and how the therapy is working.

Siemens has begun developing groundbreaking technology that may allow neurologists to watch the migration of stem cells to damaged brain tissue and monitor the cells' behavior for a prolonged time. The technology will combine the advantages of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and positron emission tomography (PET) to allow simultaneous measurement of anatomy, function and biochemistry of the body's tissues and cells. Siemens believes MR-PET will enable researchers in a few years to see whether the stem cells are still alive and how they are integrated in the body's neurological network. Not only is there the potential for brain disorders to be detected earlier, but such ailments may be diagnosed more accurately to tailor personalized therapy, and tracked to make sure treatment is working.

Siemens unveiled its vision of healthcare's future in molecular medicine at the RSNA in Chicago. Visitors learned about the potential role of molecular medicine in oncology, cardiology and neurology in an "Experience Center" that explored how technological advancements will create a world of personalized care.

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