The Latest on Etanercept Research
Even though I haven't written anything on the new research involving etanercept in a couple of weeks, I'm still receiving emails and comments about my blogs that described the research and followed up on details of the study.I recently heard from Edward Tobinick, MD, a primary investigator in the study. He was pleased with the accuracy of my blogs and provided some additional information about this new line of research, including a recent expert evaluation of the treatment and background information that establishes a theoretical and empirical basis for the study.
All of this information can be found on the website for Dr. Tobinick's private medical group, the Institute for Neurological Research. The site also includes contact information for more details about current or future treatment projects.
Please note that by providing this information, I am neither endorsing nor dismissing the activities of the Institute for Neurological Research. I am grateful to Dr. Tobinick for contacting me and sharing additional information, because this allows me to provide you - my readers - with updates about issues that I know mean a great deal to you.
Illustration of Neuron Affected by Alzheimer's © Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center, a service of the National Institute on Aging
Comments
I’ve been googling for follow up studies from other researchers without success. Seems like something this powerful should be easy to replicate if true.
And if it were true I wonder what would happen if the etanercept were given via inhalation as an aerosol. Wouldn’t this circumvent the blood-brain barrier?
please let me know how to inhale etanercept. husband has dementia
please let me know if you have an answer for inhaling etanercept.
my husband has severe dementia with horrible hallucinations.
THANKS!
Please note: This is a correction to my previous post. Although the previous post has been deleted, it may still appear in the list of comments. I apologize for any confusion caused by this re-post.
Dear Carol,
Thanks so much for your comment in reference to Adam’s question about inhaling etanercept. I did ask Dr. Tobinick, the head of the latest etanercept study, about this method of administration, and he informed me that it is not feasible. Although etanercept is not FDA-approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, it is available as a patented, off-label treatment for Alzheimer’s disease at Dr. Tobinick’s clinic (see the link in this blog for the Institute for Neurological Research). I also encourage you to read about current FDA-approved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease at http://alzheimers.about.com/od/treatmentofalzheimers/a/treatments.htm.
Thanks so much,
Carrie Hill, Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease
Dear Carrie,
I can understand the need for perispinal infusion in order to have immidiate response. What about long term improvement of Alzheimers with weekly Subcutaneous injections of etanercept. Has it been tried?
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for your comment. Reports describing the treatment indicate that in order to maintain the results (or in some cases, improve them), the person needs to keep receiving perispinal treatments at regular intervals (i.e., once a week). I don’t believe that other methods (subcutaneous, inhalation) have been found to be successful or deemed viable methods of administration.
Take good care,
Carrie