This should be interesting to you all.
There is going to be a conference in Little Rock Arkansas April 16, 2008 entitled "Best Practices in the Continuum of Care: Advances in Alzheimer's Disease Management".

PRESENTED BY:
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System; Arkansas Geriatric Education Center (AGEC), Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Office of Continuing Medical Education, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Dr Tobinick, Dr Samuel Gandy and Dr Sue Griffin will be presenting as well as several other notables.

This sounds like just the type of forum to learn about the most recent strategies in the treatment of AD (including etanercept - Enbrel).

This conference is such wonderful news.
The Enbril therapy for AD to be scrutinized and discussed in the open and in a professional context.

http://www.agec.org/programs/conferences/BP_Alzheimers/speakers.asp
______________________________________________
Speakers
COURSE CO DIRECTORS:
Dennis H. Sullivan, MD
Director, Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Professor of Geriatrics, Vice-Chair for Clinical Research
Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
Little Rock, AR

Ronni Chernoff, PhD, RD, FADA
Associate Director for Education and Evaluation
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Director, Arkansas Geriatric Education Center (AGEC)
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
Little Rock, AR

Kay Guthrie
Administrative Officer
Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Little Rock, AR

PLANNING COMMITTEE
Ronni Chernoff, PhD, RD, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System; AGEC
W. Sue T. Griffin, PhD, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, UAMS
Kay Guthrie, AO, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Kathleen L. Maddox, RN, BSN, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Dennis H. Sullivan, MD, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, UAMS

FACULTY
Catherine S. Cole, PhD, APRN, BC
Assistant Professor
College of Nursing
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, AR

Stephen DeArmond, MD, PhD
Professor of Pathology (Neuropathology)
Department of Pathology
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

Samuel E. Gandy, MD, PhD
Mt. Sinai Professor of Alzheimer's Research
Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Chair, National Medical and Scientific Advisory Council
Alzheimer's Association
New York, NY

W. Sue T. Griffin, PhD
Associate Director for Research
Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Professor and Vice Chairman
Donald W. Reynolds Dept. of Geriatrics
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, AR

James W. Simpkins, PhD
Professor & Chair
Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Fort Worth, TX

Edward Tobinick, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of California at Los Angeles
Director, Institute for Neurological Research
Los Angeles, CA

Linda Van Eldik, PhD
Co-Director, Center for Drug Discovery and Chemical Biology
Associate Director, Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center
Professor, Dept. of Cell & Molecular Biology
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, IL

Clicking my heels!

I can't wait for more people to hear about the Enbrel injections (Perispinal Etanercept)! It's working so far for my Beautiful Mom!

Felicia

Hi it is working for my husband (58) also. I am so glad this is happening. Dr. Tobinick told me about the conference last week. I will pray for all of us. sr new jersey

ttt

ttt



Blessings!

ttt

Blessings!

very interesting

ttt!



Blessings!

Conference begins tomorrow!

Tomorrow (04/16/08) is the big day. This could be the break that we need. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

April 16 is the big day? Has anyone received any info?

April 16, 2008
Amgen Statement on Alzheimer's Case Study

Amgen Statement on Alzheimer's Case Study
A number of news reports recently have been published regarding an experimental treatment for Alzheimer's disease by using Enbrel® (etanercept), a potent anti-inflammatory agent. This off-label, unapproved treatment, administered by Dr. Edward Tobinick, is not supported nor endorsed by Amgen.

Amgen's mission is to serve patients by aggressively pursuing research to help fight grievous illnesses. We fully recognize that Alzheimer's disease is a relentless neurological disease for which there is currently no cure. Our hearts truly go out to brave patients and families who are dealing with this disease. Amgen will continue to review data on the use of ENBREL and other anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

While Amgen and others have long recognized the potential role of inflammation in neurological conditions, we have carefully examined these reports and believe that there is insufficient and unsubstantiated scientific data to support the use of ENBREL as a means of treating Alzheimer's disease. For example:

We are not aware of any data to suggest that ENBREL reaches either the cerebrospinal fluid or the central nervous system in sufficient concentrations to inhibit the action of TNF when administered by Dr. Tobinick's method.
In addition, we find the rapidity of response reported by Dr. Tobinick to be implausible when considering the time required for resolution of an active inflammatory response and the potential impact that this could have on cognition.
Furthermore, we are not aware of any placebo-controlled data for Dr. Tobinick’s method. Thus, it is not possible to determine whether the clinical benefit that Dr. Tobinick reports is due to treatment with ENBREL.
Dr. Tobinick's case studies have not been presented at an appropriate medical or scientific meeting, nor have they been published in a rigorous peer-reviewed medical journal. Anecdotes are not sufficient scientific evidence to support treatment of Alzheimer's disease with ENBREL, and Amgen does not support this or any off-label use of ENBREL.

Additional Information:
The Alzheimer's Association has additional information regarding Alzheimer's research and patient/family support groups, as well as a statement regarding these reports.

For more information about the approved indications for ENBREL, including important safety information, please visit www.enbrel.com.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=562254&in_page_id=1770

Daily Mail (UK)

False claims of doctor who 'can reverse' Alzheimer's
By BARNEY CALMAN - More by this author »

Last updated at 23:54pm on 26th April 2008

Comments

A doctor who claimed to be able to reverse the effects of Alzheimer's with an arthritis drug was disciplined last year by US health chiefs for claiming the same drug could halt back pain.

Sensational footage of Dr Edward Tobinick injecting a dementia patient who subsequently appeared to recognise his wife for the first time in five years was shown in Britain earlier this month.

It gave new hope to the 700,000 UK dementia sufferers and their families.

Scroll down for more...


Denials: Dr Edward Tobinick, right, with a patient at his California practice
But this newspaper has learned Dr Tobinick, 56, has previously made unfounded claims that the same drug, etanercept, could cure chronic back and neck pain.
He also has a financial interest in the success of the drug because he owns shares in its manufacturer, Amgen.

Last year Dr Tobinick was disciplined by the Medical Board of California (MBC) after he failed to provide scientific evidence that etanercept was a 'breakthrough' treatment for back pain.

He was found guilty of unprofessional conduct and placed on probation for a year. He was banned from practising for 60 days - but the order was suspended for the period of his probation.

Last year researchers conclusively proved that etanercept was not an effective treatment for back pain, although Dr Tobinick contests their methods.

In 2001, he was involved in another row when he threatened legal action against a website that challenged claims he made about his patented laser hair removal treatment.

Dr Tobinick claims he teaches at the prestigious University Of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and is a member of its clinical faculty.

But a UCLA spokesman said Dr Tobinick merely rented an office in a private building also used by the university's medical centre.

He added that his work was not supported by the university and that any teaching he did was on a voluntary, unpaid basis.

Dr Greg Cole, assistant director of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Centre, called Dr Tobinick's Alzheimer's work "suspicious" and said it did not meet clinical trial standards. He added that most doctors were "very sceptical" of his claims.

Etanercept is part of a group of medicines which work by "switching off" a chemical that causes inflammation in the body. It is routinely used to treat rheumatic problems and severe psoriasis.

Dr Tobinick says he has given weekly injections to 50 dementia patients, many of whom have shown continuing improvement in problems such as forgetfulness and confusion.

The drug is injected into the neck near the spinal column and the patient is tilted, supposedly to encourage the drug to seep into the brain.

An Amgen spokeswoman said: "We have carefully examined this study and believe there is insufficient scientific data to support the use of a TNF inhibitor as a means of treating Alzheimer's disease."

Alzheimer's experts in the US have also described Dr Tobinick's findings as "implausible".

When approached by The Mail on Sunday, he said: "Pilot studies are the initial scientific evidence that support further investigation of a new treatment approach. Our results support the initialisation of further large-scale clinical studies.

"This is how all new treatment approaches begin. I feel the disciplinary action was unfair. There is not a single study that shows my treatment methods do not work.

"My breakthrough ideas have been attacked by the scientific community for almost a decade. This is what happens when you are the first in the world to invent a new treatment. It has happened to every medical pioneer throughout history.

"My ideas are legitimate and valid - all of this just points to the fact that my work is ahead of its time."

Additional reporting by Peter Sheridan

Thanks Ger, I was waiting for someone to find this and post it. I kind of thought it would be you...you proved yourself a Elan paid bad guy again! (See Bob, they ARE interested!)

I wrote a comment to the article this afternoon, funny, it still says Zero comments. Then, I noticed that their fine print said that not only can they delete your message, they can edit it! I wonder how many words they are going to delete to make my message say what they want. I don't have a million dollars to give them for advertising, so I don't think they care about my opinion.


Can you all believe it? Dr. Tobinick had told me about this interview they had this week. He was very happy about it, but told me not to say anything to anybody...now I know why. Well, apparently the news leaked out, and Amgen/Wyeth and/or Elan got a hold of the paper and paid them off. Good financial move for the paper, devastating move for millions of people afflicted with Alzheimer's.

They used Leo's picture...how do you think it makes Leo and Arminee feel to have been put in this article as part of the "Big Lie" by Dr. Tobinick! If it was a picture of my Mom under that title, I would sue!

Most of us here know that this treatment works. The interviewer that day spoke with Dr. T and his staff, and saw 4 patients and interviewed all of them. I believe that one was a new patient that showed improvement that day. I'm not sure about that but I think that's what Dr. T said. Either way, it was 4 patients and their families or caregivers that gave praise to Dr. Tobinick and his treatment. The editor called Dr. T on Friday, and "grilled" him on things like his probation, the lack of a double-blind study, the fact that Amgen didn't back the treatment, and many other things. Then they told him they weren't going to run the story, either at all or as first intended.

Read it over again, they didn't say a single word about the patients or that it's effectiveness is at 90%. They titled it with an outright lie! Do you still not believe there is someone behind all this? Why are they after Dr. T if he's no threat to them. Maybe this BAP drug isn't going as well as they had hoped. We all have been hoping for it, especially if it works, but why else would they be so concerned about Dr. Tobinick and his 50 patients?

Oh, and by the way, what I have been trying to say and nobody has even mentioned...THE PATENT ISN'T VALID IN THE U.K. or anywhere outside the United States. So, the theory of the Patent stopping this doesn't work in this case.

He was set up for failure. The article blew up the "disciplinary" actions and made him look like a liar. UCLA uses Dr. T when they want to look good, and "disowns" him when they are afraid of something. See this UCLA news article: http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-headlines-jan-11-2008-43001.aspx
UCLA Newsroom
UCLA Headlines Jan. 11, 2008
By Office of Media Relations| 1/11/2008 2:58:24 PM
IN THE NEWS:
------------------
New Drug May Help Combat Alzheimer’s
Research by Dr. Edward Tobinick, ASSISTANT CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AT THE DAVID GEFFEN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT UCLA, on a new drug that may help reverse some of the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease was featured Thursday by FOX News, BBC News, Bloomberg, the Times Online (U.K.), the Daily Telegraph (U.K.) and Asian News International and Wednesday by United Press International. Tobinick was quoted in the Bloomberg article.
---------------------
Interesting that they used this title in their own article in Jan 2008 -- his position has not changed since then. I'm sure there's more examples but that's all I have time for tonight.

I'm going to sleep. Again, thanks GER for bringing this outright lie to our attention.

Felicia

Ger---I'm on record already or not being very happy with Dr. Tobinick. But...

I personally feel the story is a clever way of airing 'old news' of Dr. T.'s "probation" that was mentioned in the alzforum artcile that appears at:

http://www.alzforum.org/new/detail.asp?id=1738#{A7FFF99A-260E-4AB0-9DEB-4AA549DE9357

It is just my opinion but it appears to me that that the 'old news' could have been fed to newspapers by the British Alzheimer Association to take the pressure off them for not conducting research in the validity of Dr. Tobinick's use of Enbrel as a tool for fighting Alzheimer's?

Posted May 01, 2008 02:02 PM Hide Post
US FDA: Amgen, Wyeth's Enbrel drug to carry warning
Thu May 1, 2008 2:40pm EDT May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday that Amgen Inc (AMGN.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Wyeth's (WYE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Enbrel arthritis drug will carry a warning about the risk of serious infections that can lead to hospitalization or death.

The companies had announced the new warning -- a so-called black box -- in March. Enbrel's label now warns patients and doctors about tuberculosis, bacterial sepsis and other infections in patients taking the drug.

The same dangers were previously printed in bold-face type in Enbrel's package insert label.

"Patients who develop an infection should be evaluated for appropriate antimicrobial treatment and, in patients who develop a serious infection, Enbrel should be discontinued," the FDA said in a statement on its Web site.

Amgen and Wyeth both market the drug in North America. (Reporting by Susan Heavey, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

One Amgen Center Drive P.O. Box 8299
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320-1799 Philadelphia, PA 19101-8299
IMPORTANT DRUG WARNING
SUBJECT: Tuberculosis and Infections with Enbrel® (etanercept)
March 14, 2008
Dear Health Care Professional:
Amgen Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals have added a BOXED WARNING to the ENBREL US Prescribing Information (US PI) to further strengthen and clarify information regarding the risk of infections, including tuberculosis (TB) in patients taking ENBREL; namely the new recommendation to screen for latent tuberculosis infection before beginning Enbrel. The complete BOXED WARNING is as follows:
WARNING
RISK OF INFECTIONS
Infections, including serious infections leading to hospitalization or death, have been observed in patients treated with ENBREL® (see WARNINGS and ADVERSE REACTIONS). Infections have included bacterial sepsis and tuberculosis. Patients should be educated about the symptoms of infection and closely monitored for signs and symptoms of infection during and after treatment with ENBREL®. Patients who develop an infection should be evaluated for appropriate antimicrobial treatment and, in patients who develop a serious infection, ENBREL® should be discontinued.
Tuberculosis (frequently disseminated or extrapulmonary at clinical presentation) has been observed in patients receiving TNF-blocking agents, including ENBREL®. Tuberculosis may be due to reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection or to new infection. Data from clinical trials and preclinical studies suggest that the risk of reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection is lower with ENBREL® than with TNF-blocking monoclonal antibodies. Nonetheless, postmarketing cases of tuberculosis reactivation have been reported for TNF blockers, including ENBREL®. Patients should be evaluated for tuberculosis risk factors and be tested for latent tuberculosis infection prior to initiating ENBREL® and during treatment. Treatment of latent tuberculosis infection should be initiated prior to therapy with ENBREL®. Treatment of latent tuberculosis in patients with a reactive tuberculin test reduces the risk of tuberculosis reactivation in patients receiving TNF blockers. Some patients who tested negative for latent tuberculosis prior to receiving ENBREL® have developed active tuberculosis. Physicians should monitor patients receiving ENBREL® for signs and symptoms of active tuberculosis, including patients who tested negative for latent tuberculosis infection.
The ADVERSE REACTIONS: Infections section of the US PI has also been updated to include the following information: “In global clinical studies of 20,070 patients (28,308 patient-years of therapy), tuberculosis was observed in approximately 0.01% of patients. In 15,438 patients (23,524 patient-years of therapy) from clinical studies in the US and Canada, tuberculosis was observed in approximately 0.007% of patients. These studies include reports of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (see WARNINGS).”
The ENBREL Patient Package Insert (PPI) is being converted to a Medication Guide. The Medication Guide is designed to provide important patient safety information and increase the awareness about the proper use of ENBREL. The Medication Guide will be distributed when a prescription for ENBREL is dispensed in the US.
A copy of the revised US PI is enclosed. Following approval by the FDA the Medication Guide will be available on Enbrel.com. We encourage you to review the full prescribing information and discuss the safety information with your patients.
To report adverse patient experiences or request further safety information on ENBREL, please contact Amgen’s Medical Information Connection™ at 1-800-77-AMGEN. Alternatively, adverse events may be reported to FDA’s MedWatch reporting system:
•
by phone (1-800-FDA-1088), by facsimile (1-800-FDA-0178),
•
online (https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/) or
•
mailed, using the MedWatch for FDA 3500 postage paid form, to the FDA Medical Products Reporting Program, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787
Sincerely,
Sean E. Harper, MD Bruce Freundlich, M.D.
Senior Vice President, Global Development Multi-Therapeutic Area Head
and Chief Medical Officer Inflammation/Musculo-
Amgen, Inc. Skeletal Diseases
Global Medical Affairs
Wyeth