Reversal Of Alzheimer's Symptoms Within Minutes In Human Study

[Kefka]

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.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080109091102.htm

[Stanley Burrell]

That's really cool. TNF-alpha always makes the books. I wonder which ILs they studied for cytokine expression. And if they did Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorter (FACS), heh.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

I hope this is the first step to a cure or a preventative. I saw my great aunt go through this and there is nothing so sad as losing your facilities over time and not being able to do anything about it.

[Gan]

Thats good news.

:)

[Stanley Burrell]

Anytime you can find something systemic that skirts around the loophole of neural biopsies on living human beings it is extremely fundamental to biological research. And neuro-anything, for that matter.

We still need to figure out how to drill into people's skulls without being slightly unethical.

[Atlanteax]

it likely will get improved to the extent that middle-aged adults will be using it, and possibly college students.