thats what one researcher wrote about pfizer one of the big pharma companies
they had a moral obligation to investigate this further
i will link an article that goes into more detail on all of this
but
here is my explanation and thoughts as i see all this
alzheimers is an inflammatory disease where there is inflammation in the brain probably from the amyloid and tau thats deposited in the brain
the body then attacks all this with inflammation that destroys brain tissue
think of a splinter stuck in the finger and left in place
the puncture wound gets sore red swollen and gets pus in it
thats the bodys inflammatory reaction to injury
it tries to fix things when injury occurs
in doing so it does damage the surrounding tissues
so it is in the brain with inflammation
it destroys tissue ie brain tissue
for those of us with the disease we lose memory first then worse things happen over time
many scientists think that if you treat this inflammatory reaction in the brain or elsewhere in the body that you might be able to prevent or slow down alzheimers disease
common areas that may be involved is the gut where the inflammatory reaction goes on
eg ulcerative colitis or crohns disase or maybe celiac disease
another area they are looking at is the inflammation that can come from gum disease
rheumatoid arthritis the inflammatory disease thats treated with enbrel also is another site
rheumatoid arthritis patients have a higher incidence of alzheimers disease
this inflammation outside the brain gets the inflammatory response to be carried into the brain
now
enter pfizer
big pharma
they decided to shut down their alzheimers and parkinsons research branch since all their drugs they studied didnt really help
including one similar to the aducanumab drug that i was on for almost 3 years and that just stopped its international study
enbrel is a drug that attacks inflammation in the body
its been around since the mid to late 1990s
its mainly used against rheumatoid arthritis and most recently psoriasis
it the enbrel is due to go off patent since its had its 20 year run before other companies can start making it in the generic form
back in 2015 after looking at thousands of insurance claims it was noted by pfizer and other researchers that folks on enbrel didnt seem to get alzheimers or my disease mild cognitive impairment as often as those who werent on it
it was a definite blip that showed up on the data when they analyzed it
it would seem to me and it seems after all the reaction to this story that we all agree that this warranted more evaluation
i can tell you from someone who knows whats coming in my life and my familys life in the next probably 10 years that i would be the first in line if they wanted someone to study this drug further
side effects are not an issue
if you have been through alzheimers disease with a family member i think you would probably agree
that final stage is much much worse than any side effect you or they could have
so here is what my cynical self thinks
the drug was going off patent
if they spent the $80 million to study the drug to see if it really really had an effect that if it did by the time the study was finished the drug would be off patent
any effort to study this was shut down
one excuse is thats the enbrel molecule is too big to go through the blood brain barrier so they say that the drug wouldnt work since it couldnt get into the brain
but
i know and others know who do research and those who write about alzheimers know that its very likely that treating inflammation elsewhere in the body may slow down this disease
its not definitely proven yet but i think it will be
eg
you can prevent dental inflammation by flossing regularly and brushing regularly and having regular dental cleanings and dental care
proven no but most likely to contribute to the disease
you can eat a diet like the mind diet that may help prevent gut inflammation
some folks eat a lot of fermented foods
some eat a gluten free diet
many take probiotics
proven no but most likely the gut inflammation contributes to the disease
so what we have here is a big pharma that hid this from alzheimers researchers
the studies that need to be done like those on the above inflammatory sites the teeth and the gut and on enbrel probably wont be done since the studies are expensive
it takes millions of dollars to do this research
this company if they did the study and it helped would have been competing with other generic makers of enbrel for the business
they would have spent all the money with little financial rewards
plus
they have to answer to the stockholders to show a profit
the only other source to do these big studies is the federal government
like the national institutes of health and the alzheimers association and other non profit groups
which dont have the money to pay for it
so
we are left with a nauseated feeling in our stomach and a bitter taste in our mouth as we look at this and think would it really help
and
is there a moral obligation to do this research
like one well known alzheimers researcher said even if it doesnt end up helping just the research thats done may help further the overall alzheimers research
its like in politics and in life
sometimes you just have to do the right thing
and
pfizer didnt do that
maybe its the times
when asked what do you feel about this
i said
i feel real nauseated
the organicgreen doctor
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