Drug 'can reverse Alzheimer's symptoms in minutes'
Last updated at 14:37pm on 10.01.08
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Alzheimer's affects 700,000 Britons

A drug used for arthritis can reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's "in minutes".

It appears to tackle one of the main features of the disease - inflammation in the brain.

The drug, called Enbrel, is injected into the spine where it blocks a chemical responsible for damaging the brain and other organs.

A pilot study carried out by U.S. researchers found one patient had his symptoms reversed "in minutes".

Other patients have shown some improvements in symptoms such as forgetfulness and confusion after weekly injections over six months.

The study of 15 patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's has just been published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation by online publishers Biomed Central.

The experiment showed that Enbrel can deactivate TNF (tumour necrosis factor) - a chemical in the fluid surrounding the brain that is found in Alzheimer's sufferers.

When used by arthritis sufferers, the drug is self-administered by injection and researchers had to develop a way of injecting it into the spine to affect the brain cells.

Sue Griffin, a researcher at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, said: 'It is unprecedented to see cognitive and behavioural improvement in a patient with established dementia within minutes of therapeutic intervention.

'This gives all of us in Alzheimer research a tremendous new clue

about new avenues of research.' Enbrel is not approved for treating Alzheimer's in the U.S. or the UK and is regarded as highly experimental, said Dr Griffin.

'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,' she added.

Lead author of the study Edward Tobinick, of the University of California and Director of the Institute for Neurological Research, said the drug had 'a very rapid effect that's never been reported in a human being before'.

He added: 'It makes practical changes that are significant and perceptible, making a difference to his daily living.

'Some patients have been able to start driving again. They don't come back to normal but the change is good enough for patients to want to continue treatment.'

He said top-up injections were necessary but some patients had them a month apart.

Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia, affecting more than 700,000 Britons with about 500 cases diagnosed every day.

Neil Hunt, of the Alzheimer's Society charity, said: 'The pursuit of a miracle cure for Alzheimer's continues to drive research into a variety of potential treatment targets.

These include a possible link between inflammatory reactions in the brain and Alzheimer's.'

Children exposed to lead in old paint, Victorian pipes and toys could be at risk of Alzheimer's later in life, scientists said yesterday.

A study shows that even small amounts of the metal in the first few years can build up plaques around the brain.

Scientists at the University of Rhode Island told the New Scientist that they fed infant formula milk laced with low doses of lead to baby monkeys, then followed their progress for 23 years. A post mortem of the brains revealed plaques - harmful deposits of protein found in Alzheimer's patients.

Lori,

I'm still from Missouri in heart so I have to see to believe.

When things sound too good to be true, it probably is.

But wouldn't it be great if this did work. It may not help us, but I would like to believe that something will be available for our children.

Actually this was sent to me with a request to post it.

I too am a skeptic. We have heard too many times of promising drugs for AD that have proved to be a great disappointment.

Lori, do you have a link to the original article? I am also skeptical about this because although this medication may be able to cross the blood-brain barrier and affect the inflammation found in the brain's blood vessels there is still damage that has been done to the neurons. How does it reverse the damage? I would love to know more about this. Please let us know if you find the original article.

Ok, did some research and found the original published article for anyone who is interested: http://www.jneuroinflammation.com/content/5/1/2 A good synopsis that elaborates on your post Lori can be found here: http://www.uams.edu/update/absolutenm/t ... &zoneid=35.


According to the principal investigator of the study, this drug when introduced through the spine to an Alzheimer's patient had dramatic effects almost immediately. This doesn't mean that it cures AD, but I have no doubt that it will lead researchers to find a cure if in fact this study is accurate. Two things bring up a yellow flag, one being that there was only one patient involved in the study, and the second being that the M.D. that authored the study is heavily involved with the drug manufacturing company and is even a shareholder. I'm sure we will be hearing much more about this in the very near future. Good find Lori, thanks for sharing

Just wanted to add that the more I read through this publication the more promising this looks. If you look at page 29-31 of the .pdf file you can see the documented pictures of a clock that the patient drew before and after the spinal infusion of Enbrel. Truly remarkable.[video width=400 height=350]http://www.jneuroinflammation.com/imedia/1318040001717553/supp1.mov[/video]

I am amazed. This could really be something.