Miracle Injection Cure for Alzheimer’s Disease – Fact or Fiction??

Some of you may have caught the story that aired on 60 Minutes[1] recently about the “new shot at life” that could be offered to sufferers of Alzheimer’s Disease through a new injection that may help to restore their memory and cognitive ability. Within minutes.

An injectible drug known as “Etanercept” is currently prescribed around the world as a treatment for sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis. However, the injection of Etanercept  into the spinal area of sufferers of Alzheimers Disease has been shown to literally reanimate patients who have declined to the point being almost unable to talk, such that they can fervently recount stories about their youth and relive memories that were otherwise lost to them.

If you want to see this incredible therapy at work (and believe me, you do), watch this video: http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/8360210/a-new-shot-at-life

If you want to know how Etanercept may be working to literally give Alzheimer’s Disease sufferers back their memories, it seems the following may be at play:

1.      Glial cells, which envelop the gaps (synapses) between neuronal cells in the brain, release molecules known as “gliotransmitters” which help to regulate the transmission of neurotransmitter (“message carrying”) substances across those enveloped synapses.[2] [3]

2.      A substance known as Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is a recognised gliotransmitter.[4]

3.      It has been suggested that “synaptic scaling” is centrally involved in the neuronal synapse dysfunction that occurs in Alzheimer's Disease.[5] Synaptic scaling involves uniform adjustments in the strength of all synapses on a cell in response to changes in the cell's electrical activity,[6] and is considered to be a necessary mechanism for the optimal function of neural networks. [7]

4.      It is presumed that synaptic scaling is sub-optimal in Alzheimer’s patients.

5.      It has been demonstrated that synaptic scaling is regulated by glial TNF-alpha.[8]

6.      TNF-alpha (also known by its brand name “Etanercept”) can cause rapid cognitive improvement in Alzheimer’s Disease sufferers within a matter of minutes when injected perispinally (around the spine).[9] This may be as a result of TNF-alpha improving synaptic scaling.

After several weekly treatments with perispinal Etanercept injections, Alzheimer’s sufferers have shown consistent, sustained and significant cognitive improvement and have appeared less frustrated.[10] [11] Just as importantly, those suffering from the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease have been able to regain some of their dignity, and talk lucidly with their family members and friends.

As clinical trials assessing the use of Etanercept for Alzheimer’s Disease continue, we wait with excitement to see what the future of this drug may hold.

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[1] See http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/8360210/a-new-shot-at-life, which screened on Channel 9 (Australia) on 6 November 2011.

[2] Bains JS, Oliet SH: Glia: they make your memories stick! Trends in Neuroscience: 2007, 30(8):417-24.

[3] Tobinick, E.L. & Gross, H. “Rapid cognitive improvement in Alzheimer's disease following perispinal etanercept administration.” Journal of Neuroinflammation: 2008, 5:2.

[4] Bains JS, Oliet SH. “Glia: they make your memories stick!” Trends in Neuroscience: 2007, 30(8):417-24.

[5] Tobinick, E.L. & Gross, H. “Rapid cognitive improvement in Alzheimer's disease following perispinal etanercept administration.” Journal of Neuroinflammation: 2008, 5:2.

[6] Stellwagen D, Malenka RC. :Synaptic scaling mediated by glial TNF-alpha.” Nature 2006: 440(7087):1054-9.

[7] Tobinick, E.L. & Gross, H. “Rapid cognitive improvement in Alzheimer's disease following perispinal etanercept administration.” Journal of Neuroinflammation: 2008, 5:2.

[8] Stellwagen D, Malenka RC. :Synaptic scaling mediated by glial TNF-alpha.” Nature 2006: 440(7087):1054-9.

[9] Tobinick, E.L. & Gross, H. “Rapid cognitive improvement in Alzheimer's disease following perispinal etanercept administration.” Journal of Neuroinflammation: 2008, 5:2.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Tobinick E, Gross H, Weinberger A, Cohen H. “TNF-alpha modulation for treatment of Alzheimer's disease: a 6-month pilot study.”  Med Gen Med 2006, 8(2): 25.

* Picture obtained from Healblog.net: http://www.healblog.net/health-news/alzheimer%E2%80%99s-disease-now-unraveled-with-science-articles/  (accessed on 25 November 2011).

Amazing New Stem Cell Treatment for Burn Victims - In a Gun...

Forget petri dishes. Think “bioreactor guns”.

Prof Joerg Gerlach may have developed one of the most exciting developments to have ever taken place in regenerative medicine.

And it could mean the difference between life and death for severe burn victims by providing them with new skin - their own skin – rapidly, before infection can set in.

Prof Gerlach and his Bioreactor Group at the University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine have developed a 3-dimensional breeding ground for cells which improves upon the 2-dimensional petri dish.[i]  It could grow skin stem cells, along with pancreas, liver, bone marrow, neuronal, skin, and cancer stem cells for research and therapeutic purposes.[ii]

But perhaps the most immediately exciting application of Gerlach’s technology is the treatment of severe burn victims.

First, scientists isolate healthy skin cells from burn victims’ bodies and place them in an aqueous solution inside a sterile syringe.

Second, the aqueous solution inside that sterile syringe is attached to a spray gun, in much the same way that a new canister of paint is hooked up to a spray can.

Third, the aqueous solution is sprayed directly on to the site of the burn.

This whole process can take place in one day, in as little as 1.5 hours.[iii]

Finally, Gerlach’s burn patients are treated with a unique bioreactor wound dressing that acts as an artificial vascular system. Tubes emanating from either end of the dressing do the work of both arteries and veins and distribute glucose, sugar, amino acids, antibiotics and electrolytes to the affected areas. This helps ensures that wounds remain clean, prevents infection from setting in, and provides an ideal environment for the healthy skin cells that have been sprayed on to the wound to regenerate.[iv]

The end result? New, healthy skin within days. If you do nothing else today, check out the amazing video link at http://www.thatvideosite.com/video/the_skin_gun to see it in action...

[v]

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[i] McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (2011): http://www.mirm.pitt.edu/news/article.asp?qEmpID=328, Accessed 8 November 2011.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Ibid; Tito, G. (2011) “Magic Gun Sprays Skin Cells to Heal Burns Almost Instantly

[iv] McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (2011): http://www.mirm.pitt.edu/news/article.asp?qEmpID=328, Accessed 8 November 2011.

[v] Ibid.