Has Star Scientific Found A Cure For Alzheimer's Disease? (CIGX)

If Star Scientific's CIGX press release is to be believed, we might be on the precipice of a genuine breakthrough. James Altucher took a moment to translate the confusing and unusually written press release into what he calls “Investor-English.” His conclusion is that Star Scientific has come up with a pill that greatly reduces inflammation (far more successfully than Pfizer Inc.'s PFE leading drug, Lipitor). Chronic inflammation has been linked to everything from Alzheimer's and cancer to stroke, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Thus, if the pill can lower chronic inflammation in brain tissue (a three-month human trial is about to begin), Altucher is convinced that it will have a chance at curing Alzheimer's – provided that chronic inflammation is the primary cause of the disease. It's a big if, but there are some interesting points to consider. First, one of the top institutes for studying Alzheimer's, Roskamp, has invested $1 million in Star Scientific. Altucher doesn't think that they would go through the trouble of doing a human trial if it didn't expect some decent results. Second, Curtis Wright (who worked for the FDA from 1989 to 1997) is the Star Scientific exec quoted in the press release, not Jonnie R. Williams – the company's CEO. Third, Williams reportedly invested $2 million of his own money in the company recently. Fourth, Altucher points to a URL (http://www.rfdn.org/inflammaging.html) that Star Scientific provided in its press release. The URL reveals that the company has already tested the effects of CIGrX (which apparently relates to the inflammation-reducing pill) on human brain tissue. During the test, Lipitor reduced inflammation in human brain tissue by 30%; CIGrX reduced inflammation by “about 100%.” Altucher says that nothing in history has done that before. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment, to say the least. But will this result in a cure for Alzheimer's or any other disease? Whatever the outcome, Altucher is fairly confident in the company's long-term success. “I own the stock,” he said. “I will continue to own it. If it dips I will probably buy more. If random biotech experts say I am clueless I will be happy to compare my track record with theirs.”