Tau proteins play an important role in our normal brain function, mainly by helping to stabilize neurons in the brain. But in Alzheimer’s disease, tau proteins can misfold and tangle inside neurons.

A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is an imaging technique that uses small amounts of radioactive substances. Doctors may use PET scans in chemotherapy treatments for cancer. PET scans help ...

PET scans are a form of imaging scan that can take three-dimensional images of the inside of a person’s body. They can help a doctor detect and accurately stage someone’s liver cancer. Doctors might ...

A PET scan can help doctors spot cancer that has spread through the body. A doctor may request one during the melanoma diagnostic process if they suspect advanced melanoma cancer. A PET scan is an ...

PET scans can detect amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, which are often early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. But they’re not enough on their own to make a diagnosis. Alzheimer’s disease is ...

In a small study, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found that positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the heart may identify people who will go on to develop Parkinson's ...

Sayaka Blickenderfer is a medical and science editor and writer with more than 10 years of experience. She edits and prepares scientific manuscripts and grant proposals for submission. Jane Kim, MD, ...

PET scans can detect the decline in glucose metabolism associated with decreased cognitive function, particularly in the temporal and parietal lobes located on the sides and the back of the brain, the ...

PET scans reveal amyloid plaques, which appear as warm colors such as red, yellow and orange. On the left is a patient with Alzheimer's disease, and on the right is a person with no detectable amyloid ...

A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is a diagnostic tool that examines body tissue functioning, such as blood flow, oxygen use, and sugar metabolism, to help doctors diagnose and treat disease.