Does Etanercept (Enbrel) Work on Alzheimer's Patients?

A study reported in the journal BioMed Central BMC Neurology showed that 12 patients improved language recall shortly after treatment with Enbrel, or etanercept, a rheumatoid arthritis drug. The study conducted by Dr. Edward Tobinick, director of the Institute for Neurological Research, was conducted in house without any of the controls usually seen in clinical trials.

The study is limited because people knew they were getting the drug and the result could be explained by the "placebo" effect. It is not unusual for Alzheimer's patients to show improvement in open-label studies.

One has to wonder about Dr. Tobinck's real motives since he charges $10,000-$40,000 per treatment. An outrageous price in my opinion. He does hold several patents on a special method of injecting the drug into the neck.

Hopefully we will see independent studies by scientist without financial interest to determine if this treatment should move forward and if it really works.

It should be noted that this unapproved treatment is not supported nor endorsed by Amgen. You can read the reaction they posted on the Amgen website here.

Other articles on this topic:

Etanercept (Enbrel) in Action, see Alzheimer's patient's memory come alive (Video)


Video Released Of Rapid Alzheimer's Improvement After New Immune-based Treatment

BioMed Central

Reversing Symptoms of Alzheimer's?

The Alzheimer's Action Plan: The Experts' Guide to the Best Diagnosis and Treatment for Memory Problems