Life Extension is actively recruiting participants for a free clinical trial to study the effects of natural supplements and an innovative medical therapy on Alzheimer's disease. Mild to moderate Alzheimer's patients (as diagnosed by their physician) are needed for a 17- to 18-week study. This study requires weekly visits to the office of the study's principal investigator located in the Fort Lauderdale area. Participants will receive blood tests, medical evaluations, blood pressure checks, and study medication and supplements at no cost.

The objective of Life Extension's new clinical trial is to measure the effects of weekly injections of EnbrelR (generic name etanercept), a commonly used medication for autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, and nutritional supplements that may help suppress the inflammatory factor implicated in the neuronal degeneration of Alzheimer's disease. Twenty million Americans today are destined to contract Alzheimer's disease, an affliction that robs memory, intelligence and eventually the most rudimentary cognitive abilities. The few medications currently approved to treat Alzheimer's symptoms produce only modest, short-term effects. Some patients cannot tolerate them at all.

Dr. Steven Hirsch, director of clinical research at Life Extension, stated that "Up until now, a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease meant one was destined to slowly be deprived of all cognitive function, a condition that tops the list of aging people's disease fears. This is the first clinical trial sponsored by Life Extension that will permit us to better understand Alzheimer's disease and how traditional medications, in conjunction with nutritional supplements, may affect its progress. We are seeking volunteers who meet the criteria for inclusion into the study in order to help future patients diagnosed with the disease."