A new technique has been developed to improve symptoms of Alzheimer patients has caused quite a stir in the medical community. Patients of the mentally debilitating disease that are given a ‘popular rheumatoid arthritis drug’ show dramatic improvement in a small, isolated study. The controversy lies in what some doctors believe could give family members of the disease false hope.

Reported on Sunday in the journal BioMed Central BMC Neurology, the study involved 12 patients who had improved their “language recall” very soon after treatment with drugs like Enbrel or etanercept, both anti-inflammatory drugs currently used for the treatment of arthritis. “We often see verbal effects within a few minutes of the first dose,” Dr. Edward Tobinik, director of the Institute for Neurological Research in Los Angeles told Julie Steenhuysen of Reuters. Tobinik, whose special method includes injecting the drug into the neck, charges anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 dollars per patient for the procedure.

Back in January, Tobinik’s experiment on a patient gained him attention from the Alzheimer’s Association after viewing a video of the procedure. They quickly released a statement expressing concern of Tobinik’s practice. The statement included a warning of the video’s ‘dramatic language’ that many influence family members the immediate effect of the drug could last when proper tests had not yet been conducted.

“We need to see work in other laboratories by scientists without financial interest in the product,” the statement said. Dr. Sam Gandy, the Alzheimer’s Association chairman is especially suspicious of Tobinik’s motives, arguing his self interest give the project a dangerous bias. “It’s still not a proper trial,” Gandy said.

Tobinik is, however, looking towards the future, though he admits the study is currently limited because people knew they were receiving the drug. His critics insist that more scientifically rigorous, ‘randomized’ clinical trials must be conducted before sufficient evidence surfaces in the medical community. Agmen, a drug label providing Enbrel, have neither endorsed nor supported Tobinik’s work.

To check out this controversial practice first hand, follow this link showing a woman’s response to the drug in a similar study.