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Dr. John L. Faessel

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Dr.Faessel@onthemar.com

Drum roll please – The first reference in the medical literature re “improvements” of cognitive impairment in human subjects with mild cognitive impairment [MCI] using nicotine. Participants also reported “feeling sharper while on the (nicotine) patch”. Crash the cymbals!

Yesterday a new study was released by Vanderbilt University Medical Center by Dr. Paul Newhouse that was reported in the January 10 issue of Neurology.

To see the ABC NEWS video featuring Dr. Newhouse referencing the study, link: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/video/nicotine-treatment-memory-loss-15306827

Let’s peruse some of the quotes from the article and some of the comments by Dr. Michael Mullan of the Roskamp Institute* in reference to the article...

* The main goal of the Roskamp Institute is to discover new and effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease. (Roskamp website)

Under the Vanderbilt Conclusions:

·        “This study demonstrated that transdermal nicotine can be safely administered to nonsmoking subjects with mild cognitive impairment [MCI] over 6-months with improvement in primary and secondary cognitive measures of attention, memory, and mental processing”

·        “The primary cognitive outcome measure [CPT] showed a significant nicotine-induced improvement.”

·        ”The secondary outcome measures showed significant nicotine-associated improvements in attention, memory, and psychomotor speed, and improvements were seen in patient/informant ratings of cognitive impairment.”

·        “We conclude that this initial study provides evidence for nicotine-induced cognitive improvement in subjects with mild cognitive impairment [MCI]”

·        In addition it was mentioned that, “these effects are clinically important and will require larger studies.”

From Dr. Mullan’s Comments:

·        Dr. Newhouse suggests that Nicotine patches may be very beneficial in individuals with mild cognitive impairment [MCI].

·        “Mild cognitive impairment [MCI] is frequently regarded as a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease”

·        According to studies at Harvard University. “Anatabine is also a tobacco leaf-derived product, but, has no known carcinogen effects, nor does it seem to have any addictive potential.”

·        this recent study, using Nicotine patches for six months, has shown that individuals under the influence of Nicotine showed a 46% improvement in their “long-term memory”

·        In addition Anatabine has been shown by scientists at the Roskamp Institute to be beneficial in mitigating against memory decline in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease.

·        Studies with Anatabine show that amyloid protein, the causative agent in Alzheimer’s disease, is reduced in animal models of the disease and that this reduction parallels the improvement in memory seen with treatment with Anatabine.

·        Dr. Mullan also commented today (1/11/2012) in a press release from Star Scientific Inc., "Anatabine may have several advantages over nicotine in the support of memory with aging.  For instance, anatabine seems to have a longer half-life in the blood, which necessitates less frequent dosing, and has shown no abuse potential in animal screening. In addition, anatabine is able to lower amyloid levels in animal models of Alzheimer's disease which become abnormally high as the disease progresses."  Dr. Mullan also commented that the Roskamp Institute is actively pursuing the use of anatabine as a support for memory loss, and will be initiating human studies to explore further this potential role for anatabine.”

My Thoughts:

·        So, the tobacco leaf compound – (synthesized formulation) Anatabine / Roskamps RCP006 / Star Scientific’s or Rock Creek’s Anatabloc™ is of course the active component of the analogous tobacco leaf product without any of the addictive potential of nicotine where the addictive potential is enormous.

·        It also has a longer half life in the body, doesn’t have to be ingested as often, thereby necessitating less frequent administration. Also decisive is that large quantities of nicotine can be deadly – not so with Anatabine that’s thought to be nearly inoffensive, even when taken in large quantities.

·       Obviously, from a commercial point of view there is no patent position on nicotine, and no one could get one - so the Anatabine alternative is attractive.

·        Importantly, the peak nicotine dose after smoking a cigarette occurs in a few minutes and after a patch is applied in about 30 minutes. From what we know to date it appears that the peak level of Anatabine occurs significantly longer out in time. With the wonders of modern pharmacology I’d expect that Anatabine will, in due course, be formulated to be taken as a once or twice per day dose, light years more effective that a patch that has little dosage control.

·        We also know that the Anatabine stays over twice as long in the body as a cigarette delivered dose of nicotine; 8-hours vs. 4-hours.

·        It therefore appears that all the beneficial effects that the nicotine patch accomplishes for subjects with mild cognitive impairment is achieved by Anatabine without the deleterious effects of addiction, potential toxicity and the numerous tobacco related medical horrors. Anatabine can also be dosed in a more effective regimen while also benefiting from the increase in half-life.

·       Taken as a whole I believe this Vanderbilt study is of huge consequence in the ever improving storyline of Anatabine in reference to Alzheimer's disease. As readers know the Roskamp Institute is well into extensive studies and trials of patients that demonstrate mild cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer symptoms. Again, this study adds credence to the evolution of a possible successful treatment modality.

More detail from the Vanderbilt study:

·        Several other objective cognitive measures suggested an advantage to nicotine patch use as well:

·        Better short-term memory on the Immediate Paragraph Recall Test (P=0.02)

·        Less forgetting between immediate and delayed recall on the Paragraph Recall Test (P=0.04)

·        More improvement in delayed word recall accuracy on computerized testing (P=0.018)

·        Faster response time on computerized testing (P=0.04)

·        Trends for greater improvement with nicotine patches were also seen in spatial memory (P=0.10), delayed word recognition (P=0.09), delayed picture recognition sensitivity (P=0.12), faster recall on computerized testing (P=0.06), and more accurate performance with numbers on the Digit Symbol Substitution Task (P=0.13).

·        Nicotine had no impact on self-rated depression but did reduce reported worry and anxiety (P=0.05), with a trend for improvement in dementia scores (P=0.07).

There was also an article released yesterday by MedPage Today that reviews the Vanderbilt abstract written by Crystal Phend, and reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California.  http://www.medpagetoday.com

If you would like to see the full eleven [11] page Vanderbilt University Medical Center abstract send me an email request: Dr.Faessel@onthemar.com 

Link: Mike Mullan Alzheimer Researcher Comments on: Nicotine May Help Combat Memory Loss study by Dr. Newhouse

http://www.mullanalzheimer.com/dementia/comments-on-nicotine-combat-memory-loss-study-dr-newhouse/ 

The Vanderbilt study was supported by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences with Pfizer providing the transdermal nicotine patches.

Dr. Newhouse’s research has focused on central nicotinic mechanisms in degenerative brain disorders and the role of nicotinic receptor systems in normal and disordered cognitive functioning in humans. And he has served as a consultant for AstraZeneca, Gerson Lehrman Group, Guidepoint Global, Summer Street Research Partners, and Biotechnology Value Fund; and receives research support from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, Targacept, and the NIH.

Disclosure: I'm an investor in Star Scientific shares and have bought shares on the open market and have no affiliation with the company other than as a shareholder.

If you missed my previous reports—more specific in detail and scope on each of these themes—or wish to receive my Best Ideas for 2012, send a request to: Dr.Faessel@onthemar.com

The Roskamp Institute website; http://www.rfdn.org/

To view the new Anatabloc™ website; http://anatabloc.com/

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