From Bayer Schering Pharma AG:
Available in Europe since 1996 and in Japan since 1999. Currently, the marketing situation is unclear.
Levovist® is a first generation USCA consisting of galactose (milk sugar) ground into tiny crystals whose irregular surfaces act as nidation sites on which air pockets form when it is suspended in water, much as soda water bubbles form at small irregularities on the surface of the glass. A trace of palmitic acid is added as a surfactant to stabilize the resultant microbubbles. When Levovist® dissolves in blood, air trapped inside the galactose is released as free gas bubbles. These bubbles have a weak encapsulating shell and are easily destroyed by ultrasound.
Different contrast ultrasonography methods have been developed since the introduction of Levovist®. Initially, Levovist® was an echo contrast medium for improving sensitivity in color Doppler and Power Doppler examinations, but was found to suffer from significant blooming, making it difficult to observe small blood vessels. However, Levovist® improves the accuracy of echocardiographic examinations in such indications as assessment of left ventricular function.
In addition to their vascular phase, some ultrasound contrast agents (USCAs) can exhibit a tissue- or organ-specific phase. Levovist® can accumulate within the liver and the spleen for up to 20 min once it has disappeared from the blood pool and improves the detectability of focal liver lesions and allows more reliable control of interventional tumor treatments. Varied types of information can be obtained by applying contrast imaging at different times after the injection using Levovist® in both the arterial phase and the late organ-specific phase.
1 g Levovist® granules contain 999 mg D-galactose and 1 mg palmitic acid.
Brand names in other countries: Levovist/Levograf