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.
Doctor: Save Your Brain from Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s
and Worse . . .
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, at:
http://www.jneuroinflammation.com.
According to Dr. Robert O. Young, a research
scientist at the pH Miracle Living Center,
states, "a significant reduction of TNF can
be achieved through a hyper-alkalization
of the blood then tissues. This forced
alkaline pH of the tissues buffers the
acids that cause the symptoms of inflammation
that activates the immune system and the
release of TNF. You can support the immune
response and reduce or eliminate the release
of TNF with an alkaline lifestyle and diet."
