Posted on 01/09/2008 2:14:21 PM PST by blam
Reversal Of Alzheimer's Symptoms Within Minutes In Human Study
PET Scan of Alzheimer's Disease Brain. (Credit: NIH/National Institute On Aging)
ScienceDaily (Jan. 9, 2008) — An extraordinary new scientific study, which for the first time documents marked improvement in Alzheimer’s disease within minutes of administration of a therapeutic molecule, has just been published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation.
This new study highlights the importance of certain soluble proteins, called cytokines, in Alzheimer’s disease. The study focuses on one of these cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF), a critical component of the brain’s immune system. Normally, TNF finely regulates the transmission of neural impulses in the brain. The authors hypothesized that elevated levels of TNF in Alzheimer’s disease interfere with this regulation. To reduce elevated TNF, the authors gave patients an injection of an anti-TNF therapeutic called etanercept. Excess TNF-alpha has been documented in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer’s.
The new study documents a dramatic and unprecedented therapeutic effect in an Alzheimer’s patient: improvement within minutes following delivery of perispinal etanercept, which is etanercept given by injection in the spine. Etanercept (trade name Enbrel) binds and inactivates excess TNF. Etanercept is FDA approved to treat a number of immune-mediated disorders and is used off label in the study.
The use of anti-TNF therapeutics as a new treatment choice for many diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and potentially even Alzheimer’s, was recently chosen as one of the top 10 health stories of 2007 by the Harvard Health Letter.
Similarly, the Neurotechnology Industry Organization has recently selected new treatment targets revealed by neuroimmunology (such as excess TNF) as one of the top 10 Neuroscience Trends of 2007. And the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives has chosen the pilot study using perispinal etanercept for Alzheimer’s for inclusion and discussion in their 2007 Progress Report on Brain Research.
The lead author of the study, Edward Tobinick M.D., is an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles and director of the Institute for Neurological Research, a private medical group in Los Angeles. Hyman Gross, M.D., clinical professor of neurology at the University of Southern California, was co-author.
The study is accompanied by an extensive commentary by Sue Griffin, Ph.D., director of research at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock and at the Geriatric Research and Clinical Center at the VA Hospital in Little Rock, who along with Robert Mrak, M.D., chairman of pathology at University of Toledo Medical School, are editors-in-chief of the Journal of Neuroinflammation.
Griffin and Mrak are pioneers in the field of neuroinflammation. Griffin published a landmark study in 1989 describing the association of cytokine overexpression in the brain and Alzheimer’s disease. Her research helped pave the way for the findings of the present study. Griffin has recently been selected for membership in the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, a nonprofit organization of more than 200 leading neuroscientists, including ten Nobel laureates.
“It is unprecedented that we can see cognitive and behavioral improvement in a patient with established dementia within minutes of therapeutic intervention,” said Griffin. “It is imperative that the medical and scientific communities immediately undertake to further investigate and characterize the physiologic mechanisms involved. This gives all of us in Alzheimer’s research a tremendous new clue about new avenues of research, which is so exciting and so needed in the field of Alzheimer’s. Even though this report predominantly discusses a single patient, it is of significant scientific interest because of the potential insight it may give into the processes involved in the brain dysfunction of Alzheimer’s.”
While the article discusses one patient, many other patients with mild to severe Alzheimer’s received the treatment and all have shown sustained and marked improvement.
The new study, entitled “Rapid cognitive improvement in Alzheimer’s disease following perispinal etanercept administration,” and the accompanying commentary, entitled “Perispinal etanercept: Potential as an Alzheimer’s therapeutic,” are available on the Web site of the Journal of Neuroinflammation.
Author Hyman Gross, M.D., has no competing interests. Author Edward Tobinick, M.D. owns stock in Amgen, the manufacturer of etanercept, and has multiple issued and pending patents assigned to TACT IP LLC that describe the parenteral and perispinal use of etanercept for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders, including, but not limited to, U.S. patents 6015557, 6177077, 6419934, 6419944, 6537549, 6982089, 7214658 and Australian patent 758523.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
It’s not clear from the article how often Enbrel would have to be administered to sustain the effect.
However, whatever the cost of the drug, I’m sure it would be nothing compared to the cost of providing nursing home care for these patients-—and never mind the human cost of the disease.
I know where you’re coming from. The way we handled it was we asked our love one to see a “specialist” and told her it did not mean giving up her beloved GP at all. Through this line of reasoning, we were able to add in the care of someone who actually had a clue what he was doing.
What is the current treatment cost? I'd think it would be far more than a half bil.
My ex’s dad has advanced AZ. I’m forwarding this article to my ex.
A drop in the bucket compared to what we give countries that hate our guts.
Results today for AMGEN
47.65+1.32 / +2.85% Jan 09
I take this stuff, well the very similar Remicade, which works against TNF-alpha. Remicade is infused using an IV. Enbrel is similar and is self-injected, I think subcutaneously.
The method described here is a spinal-column injection. I doubt there would be any off-label prescriptions that would allow that method until approved that way.
The stuff has been miraculous for my arthritis!
In RA it’s usually twice a week. FWIW.
compared to the cost of lingering in a nursing home for ten years? might be a bargain
I wonder if it would have any effect on autism.
Is the high cost of dosage related to recovering research and development costs, or is it just real expensive to produce? If the former, the costs should go way down over time, especially if the drug has an unanticipated application for AZ disease, which would dramatically increase the demand.
Wow. Now that’s news. GOOD news and this treatment can be accomplished without aborting babies and harvesting parts.
Don’t get mad at the Doc, as there is really not much he can do. Aricept is the drug of choice these days, but the Docs I’ve talked to don’t think it is very effective.
I’ve seen this disease up close with my mother in law and now with my 90 year old mother. It is so painful to watch the deterioration.
Anyone with a family history should keep exercising his brain as much as he can.
There no good medical treatment for it, just custodial care which is usually private pay or covered by Medicaid.
Probably both. Enbrel's been around about six years I think, so it's got a few years before the patent runs out. It will never get cheap, though.
This means I could get my Grandmother back.
Praise God
Ping for potentially very good news.
Amgen (AMGN: NASDAQ) closed up $1.32 today. That’s the maker.
If you get alzheimer’s, it will be.
Worth a (fingers crossed) WOW!
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