New treatment for the tragedy of Alzheimer’s dementia

Dr. Weeks’ Comment:  I received training and certification in this investigational treatment 2 years ago and, although expensive, this is a very exciting treatment protocol for those suffering with Alzheimer’s dementia and memory disorders. Email the clinic (admin@weeksmd.com) with any questions. 

Here is the link to publications:
http://www.nrimed.com/pub.html

Here is the link to Dr. T’s talk yesterday:
http://www.worldpharmacongress.com/09_alz_day2.asp
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Nature Clinical Practice Neurology (2008) 4, 181
doi:10.1038/ncpneuro0763 (/clinicalpractice/about_site/doi.html)
Perispinal administration of anti-TNF agent results in
rapid cognitive improvement in AD

Original article:Tobinick EL and Gross H (2008) Rapid cognitive improvement in Alzheimer’s disease
following perispinal etanercept administration. J Neuroinflammation 5: 2 PubMed
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=npg&cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=18184433&dopt=Abstract
A substantial amount of evidence indicates that excess tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has a
key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A pilot study demonstrated that
perispinal extrathecal administration of the potent anti-TNF therapeutic etanercept
(approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in 1998) conferred sustained
cognitive improvements in patients with AD. During the course of the pilot trial, the
researchers noted rapid clinical improvement in the patients following etanercept
administration. As the original trial protocol did not allow for the measurement of
improvements at short intervals, the authors have now quantitatively documented the
rapid cognitive improvements seen in a new patient with late-onset AD following
perispinal etanercept administration.
In this case report, an 81-year-old patient intolerant to donepezil, memantine and
rivastigmine and unresponsive to galantamine (8 mg) received etanercept (25 mg) by
posterior cervical interspinous injection. On initial testing, the patient scored 7 out of 30
on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and was unable to recall the calendar
date, the day of the week, the state in which he lived or his physician’s name. At 10 min
after dosing, the patient was more attentive and was able to correctly identify the state in
which he lived. At 2 h after administration of etanercept, the patient scored 15 out of 30
on the MoCA, was orientated to the month and day of the week, and could recall the
investigator’s name. At repeat testing 7 weeks later, following 5 doses of etanercept, the
patient scored 14 out of 30 on the MoCA. The researchers conclude that the TNF-related
components of AD seem a promising new target for therapeutic intervention.

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Subject areas under which this article appears: Aging and dementia
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