Herholz said the main limitation of the paper was its small size.

"This figure of 96 percent correspondence may not actually be the figure that would come out of a larger study with more patients," he said.

The agent is only one of a number in the pipeline that could allow better, and earlier, diagnosis of the disease. But the first PET imaging agent developed, 11C-labeled Pittsburgh compound B (11C-PiB), has a short half-life, limiting its use to specialized research centers, the authors said.

Just last week, GE Healthcare announced results from studies with its agent, [18F] Flutemetamol, currently undergoing phase 3 trials. It was tested against brain matter sampled from living patients who had undergone a shunt operation because of suspected hydrocephalus.

"That's a procedure that's not very commonly done, and therefore it's more prone to selection bias," Herholz said. "But florbetapir is likely not to be the only compound that can achieve these results."

Around 5.3 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's the nation's sixth leading cause of death.

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