Edward Tobinick M.D. Scientific Biography
Edward Lewis Tobinick, M.D. is an American physician, inventor, and scientist. Dr. Tobinick is the inventor of the breakthrough perispinal etanercept (PSE) stroke treatment, as seen in the 60 Minutes Australia “Reverse Stroke” news feature and in hundreds of published videos (see the Institute of Neurological Recovery YouTube Channel). He has authored multiple, peer-reviewed, scientific publications in the field of neurology and granted more than 30 U.S. and international patents for his medical inventions. His work has been cited by more than 3000 scientific publications. His inventions include novel methods of drug delivery to selectively enhance the ability of large molecular weight drugs and biologics to reach the brain in therapeutic concentration. His medical discoveries have contributed to our fundamental understanding of brain and neuronal function in health and disease.
Notably, Dr. Tobinick invented and has refined methods of perispinal delivery of PSE for therapeutic use in neurology, novel inventions validated by a 2020 randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial(1). The randomized trial documented “… rapid and wide-ranging benefits achievable by treating stroke patients with PSE,” findings supported by and originally reported in observational studies published by Dr. Tobinick and his colleagues beginning in 2011 (see below). In 2018 the Australian government designated funds specifically to run an additional randomized, controlled trial of PSE for stroke in Australia.
Dr. Tobinick graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude with honors in biology from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, received his M.D. from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine in La Jolla, California, and completed residency training at UCLA. While in private practice in Beverly Hills and at 100 UCLA Medical Plaza, he also taught medical students, interns, residents and medical faculty as a clinical professor at UCLA for more than 20 years. He founded the Institute of Neurological Recovery in Los Angeles in 2001 and Boca Raton, Florida in 2011. He has been an invited expert reviewer for the journals Brain Research, Clinical Drug Investigation, CNS Drugs, Current Alzheimer Research, Drug Discovery Today, Experimental Neurology, Future Neurology, Journal of Neurochemistry, Journal of Neuroimmunology, Neuroscience, and Pharmaceutical Medicine and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neuroinflammation.
Dr. Tobinick has presented his scientific findings regarding PSE in neurology at multiple U.S. and international medical conferences, including the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Conference in New York in 2006; the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm in 2006; the Drug Repositioning Summit in Boston in 2008; the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Chicago in 2008; the Advances in Alzheimer’s Disease Management conference at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences in Little Rock in 2008; and, in 2009, the 3rd International Restauracion Neurologica Conference in Havana, the World Pharmaceutical Congress in Philadelphia and the 5th Modern Drug Discovery Conference in San Diego. He has performed collaborative research with physicians and scientists at multiple academic centers, including Stanford University School of Medicine. Further randomized trials of PSE for stroke are in development, with the goal to achieve regulatory approval for PSE to help individuals recover from stroke, even years after the acute event.
Download a copy of Dr Tobinick’s 2016 Curriculum Vitae PDF Here.
- Phase I/II parallel double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial of PSE for chronic stroke: improved mobility and pain alleviation. Expert Opin Investig Drugs, 2020: p. 1-16.
Selected Scientific Publications Authored by Dr. Tobinick:
- Immediate Resolution of Hemispatial Neglect and Central Post-Stroke Pain After PSE, Edward Tobinick, M.D., Clinical Drug Investigation, 2020. 40(1): p. 93-97. (Download free full-text PDF),
- Perispinal injection of a TNF blocker directed to the brain of rats alleviates the sensory and affective components of chronic constriction injury-induced neuropathic pain.T. A. Ignatowski, R. N. Spengler, Edward Tobinick, and et al, Brain Behav Immun, 2019. 82: p. 93-105.
- PSE advances as a neurotherapeutic.Edward Tobinick, M.D., Expert Rev Neurother, 2018. 18(6): p. 453-455. (Download free full-text PDF),
- Australian Government Advances Stroke Research Targeting Neuroinflammation.Edward Tobinick MD, Brainimmune.com, 2018.
- PSE for Traumatic Brain Injury. Edward Tobinick, Kinssies R, Kim N., et.al. Chapter 7 In: Heidenreich KA, editor. New Therapeutics for Traumatic Brain Injury. Cambridge, Mass.: Academic Press; 2017. p. 109-29. LINK.
- On Overcoming Barriers to Application of Neuroinflammation Research.Tobinick E, Ignatowski, T., Spengler, R. In: Abreu GEA, ed. Mechanisms of Neuroinflammation: InTechOpen; 2017. (Download the free full-text PDF).
- Perispinal Delivery of CNS Drugs. Edward Tobinick MD. CNS Drugs. 2016:30(6):469-80. (Download free full-text PDF)
- Author’s Reply to Whitlock: PSE for Post-Stroke Neurological and Cognitive Dysfunction: Scientific Rationale and Current Evidence. Ignatowski TA, Spengler RN, Tobinick E. CNS Drugs, 2014 Dec;28(12):1207-13. do: 10.1007/s40263-014-0212-0. (Download free full-text PDF)
- PSE for Post-Stroke Neurological and Cognitive Dysfunction: Scientific Rationale and Current Evidence. Edward Tobinick, Ignatowski TA, Spengler RN, Dhandapani KM, Folkersma H, Butterworth RF, Tobinick E. CNS Drugs, August 2014, 28(8):679-697. (Download free full-text PDF)
- Immediate neurological recovery following PSE years after brain injury. Tobinick E, Rodriguez-Romanacce H, Levine A, Ignatowski TA, Spengler RN. Clin Drug Investig. 2014 May;34(5):361-6.
- Selective TNF Inhibition for Chronic Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury – An Observational Study Involving 629 Consecutive Patients Treated with PSE. Edward Tobinick MD, Nancy M. Kim MD, et.al. CNS Drugs. 2012 Dec;26(12):1051-70.
- Rapid improvement of chronic stroke deficits after PSE: three consecutive cases. Edward Tobinick MD. CNS Drugs. 2011 Feb 1; 25(2):145-155.
- PSE: a new therapeutic paradigm in neurology. Edward Tobinick MD. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics. 2010 Jun;10(6):985-1002.
- Tumour necrosis factor modulation for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: rationale and current evidence. Edward Tobinick MD. CNS Drugs. 2009 Sep 1;23(9):713-25.
- The value of drug repositioning in the current pharmaceutical market. Edward Tobinick MD. Drug News Perspect. 2009 Mar;22(2):119-25. Review.
- Rapid intracerebroventricular delivery of Cu-DOTA-etan&ercept after peripheral administration demonstrated by PET imaging. Edward Tobinick MD, K Chen PhD, X Chen PhD. BMC Res Notes. 2009 Feb 27;2:28.
- PSE for neuroinflammatory disorders. Edward Tobinick MD. Drug Discovery Today. 2009 Feb;14(3-4):168-77.
- PSE produces rapid improvement in primary progressive aphasia: identification of a novel, rapidly reversible TNF-mediated pathophysiologic mechanism. Edward Tobinick MD. Medscape J Med. 2008 Jun 10;10(6):135.
- Rapid improvement in verbal fluency and aphasia following PSE in Alzheimer’s disease. Edward Tobinick MD, H. Gross MD. BMC Neurology. 2008 Jul 21;8:27.
- Re: Inflammatory markers and the risk of Alzheimer disease: the Framingham Study. Edward Tobinick MD. Neurology. 2008 Apr 1;70(14):1222-3.
- PSE for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Edward Tobinick MD. Current Alzheimer Research. 2007 Dec;4(5):550-2.
- A critique of intradiscal administration for treatment of radiculopathy. Edward Tobinick MD. Anesthesiology. 2008 Feb;108(2):334.
- Rapid cognitive improvement in Alzheimer’s disease following PSE administration. Edward Tobinick MD, Hyman Gross MD. Journal of Neuroinflammation. 2008 Jan 9;5:2.
- Spinal delivery of p38: TNF-alpha inhibitors. E Tobinick MD. PLoS Med. 2006 Nov;3(11):e511.
- TNF-alpha modulation for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: a 6-month pilot study. Edward Tobinick MD, Hyman Gross MD, Alan Weinberger MD, Hart Cohen MD. MedGenMed. 2006 Apr 26;8(2):25.
- The cerebrospinal venous system: anatomy, physiology, and clinical implications. Edward Tobinick MD. MedGenMed. 2006 Feb 22;8(1):53.
- Efficacy of PSE delivered by perispinal administration for chronic back and/or neck disc-related pain: a study of clinical observations in 143 patients. Edward Tobinick MD, Susan Davoodifar MD. Curr Med Res Opin. 2004 Jul;20(7):1075-85.
- Targeted PSE for treatment-refractory pain due to bone metastasis: two case reports. Edward L. Tobinick MD. Clinical Therapeutics. 2003 Aug;25(8):2279-88.
Additional information:
- Drugs. com: Perispinal Etanercept for Stroke Recovery – 2023 Review
- A published news story, Florida Doctor Gives Stroke Patients a New Shot at Mobility, Independence.
- Additional information about Edward Tobinick, M.D., including medical office, background, license, medical training.
- Edward Tobinick – Google Scholar
- On Overcoming Barriers to Application of Neuroinflammation Research – Edward L. Tobinick