Researchers in California believe they can produce marked improvements to some patients with Alzheimers by injecting the drug Etanercept into the neck. The drug which is said to improve the brain cell communication, is claimed to see changes taking place within minutes of the application.

Around 50 people are currently undergoing trials and doctors have reported a response rate of around 90% within minutes. Although the patient will not return to normal there is improvement seen in the ability to think and calculate, memory improvement and verbal ability improvement. The drug Etanercept is not a new drug and was originally developed and used for the treatment of Arthritis.

Many experts are still quite sceptial of the results and are calling for a small clinical trial to be run to discover if there is any evidence on a larger scale. There is a growing interest in this new approach and Professor Clive Holmes of Southampton University said providing funding can be secured he would be happy to take on this trial.

Source : BBC News online
Date : 14/04/2008

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