Immune-based Treatment to Alzheimers Disease on Video

Filed in archive Diagnostics, Methodologies and Instrumentation , Drugs, Vaccines and Therapeutics on July 23, 2008

A video has been submitted as part of a manuscript published the open access journal BMC Neurology, documenting the rapid language improvement within minutes of using a novel immune-based treatment for Alzheimer's Disease. The vieo may be downloaded here for viewing.

Building on previous work by the same authors, published in BioMed Central's Journal of Neuroinflammation, this study focuses on the effect of the anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) drug, etanercept, on measures of verbal ability.

TNF-alpha, a critical component of the brain's immune system, normally finely regulates the transmission of neural impulses in the brain. The authors hypothesize that elevated levels of TNF-alpha in Alzheimer's disease interfere with this regulation. To reduce elevated TNF-alpha, the authors utilized a unique perispinal delivery method to administer etanercept.

The study provides preliminary evidence that the disrupted neural communication that happens in Alzheimer's disease may be reversible.

The study, entitled Rapid improvement in verbal fluency and aphasia following perispinal etanercept in Alzheimer's disease, is available here,