Anti-TNF treatment for severe disc-related pain

From the INR, the world leader* in the use of anatomically-targeted anti-TNF treatment

Anatomically-targeted anti-TNF treatment is an innovative treatment modality which has been successfully used for selected patients with severe disc-related pain (associated with single or multiple disc protrusions, disk bulge, disc herniation, or degenerative disc disease) , including severe back pain, neck pain, and sciatica, which had failed to adequately respond to all previous attempts at treatment, including fusion surgery, epidural steroid injections, and large doses of opioids[1, 2].

Anatomically-targeted anti-TNF treatment in the U.S. is available exclusively at the INR, because this is an off-label patented treatment method developed at the INR[3]. For this reason patients with severe disc-related pain have flown to the INR from all over the U.S., Canada, Asia, and other parts of the world for this unique treatment.

No form of treatment for severe chronic pain is uniformly successful. Nevertheless, anatomically-targeted anti-TNF treatment is unique in that it may result in rapid pain improvement, within minutes after a single dose, even for patients with severe, chronic pain, in an office setting without the need for pre-operative medication nor anesthesia. Treatment is fast and gentle in the office, and patients may return to their normal daily activity immediately following the brief, in-office procedure.

Excess TNF has been increasingly recognized as a key factor in disc-related pain[4-12]. INR publications have been recognized and cited by an increasing number of scientific publications from leading academic centers around the world[13-32]. INR patents have been cited by patents and patent applications from leading biopharmaceutical and spine companies, including Amgen Fremont, Applied Molecular Evolution, DePuy Spine, General Hospital Corporation (Massachusetts General Hospital), GenMab, Johnson & Johnson, the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Medarex, Medtronic, Pharmacia, Shering, Xencor and others.

In 2007 Edward Tobinick MD, Director of the INR, was named to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neuroinflammation.

Patients from Canada and overseas are advised to send their MRI reports to the INR for review by e-mail to INR@nrimed.com, or by fax to (310) 824-6196. Further information is available by calling the INR at (310) 824-6199.

*The INR invented the anatomically-targeted use of etanercept and other biologic anti-TNF therapeutics for the treatment of disc-related pain. The INR's treatment methods are protected by multiple issued U.S. patents, assigned to TACT IP LLC, including, but not limited to U.S. patents 6015557, 6177077, 6419934, 6419944, 6537549, 6982089 and 7214658.

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2. Tobinick, E.L. and S. Britschgi-Davoodifar, Perispinal TNF-alpha inhibition for discogenic pain. Swiss Med Wkly, 2003. 133(11-12): p. 170-7.
3. Tobinick, E., Tumor necrosis factor antagonists for the treatment of neurological disorders. US patent 6,015,557. Also, U.S. patents 6177077, 6419934, 6419944, 6537549, 6982089 and 7214658.
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