Part two in the series

CLEVELAND, Ohio --

It's 11 p.m. on a Friday night, and Dr. Rick Sponaugle is pacing.

"I just wanted you to know enough to know that I'm not a quack," he says after he stops. He's been talking about his work in addiction treatment and brain trauma for five hours over dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The 56-year-old Florida doctor had spent much of this January day with former Cleveland Brown Bernie Kosar, addressing national and local media about his work to reverse the quarterback's brain trauma.

Kosar, a beloved Cleveland sports figure, wants the world to know that the doctor has cured his sleeplessness, headaches and slurred speech -- symptoms that, he said, are a result of repeated hits and concussions sustained during a 12-year NFL career.

Their news conference took place as increasing attention has been focused on the long-term effects of head injuries among professional football players.

Sponaugle arrived 20 minutes late for dinner and, before sitting down, explained that his wife had gone to an emergency room in Florida for a blood clot behind her collarbone. He was awaiting news on her condition. Still, he said, he was incredibly hungry and ready to eat.

Once seated, Sponaugle talked passionately for 45 minutes before ordering. He did not miss a beat when he knocked over a glass of red wine. He fidgeted in his seat throughout the evening, checked his phone to see if he'd had a call from his wife or her doctors. He read texts intermittently, including one from Kosar asking for help for a friend, talking all the while.

Sponaugle explained that his work in treating addiction patients helped prepare him to aid NFL players who suffer from head trauma. In both cases, Sponaugle said, he's dealing with brain injury.

"This isn't for amateurs. . . . I have a treatment that is revolutionary," he said.

At the news conference, Kosar touted Sponaugle as a "gift from God." And the next day on his Twitter feed, @berniekosarqb, Kosar responded to congratulatory Tweets about his recovery: "the Doc literally heals Brains, it's Amazing."

Since then, Kosar said he has been besieged by calls from medical writers wanting clarification on his treatment. But Kosar and the doctor are providing few details.

He also said he's been inundated by calls from other NFL players wanting to know more about Sponaugle.

"It works for me, that's all I know," Kosar said in a brief interview days after his announcement.

Dr. Rick Sponaugle's Florida Detox & Wellness Institute

Sponaugle, who treated the 49-year-old Kosar in December, is a medically trained anesthesiologist.

He graduated from West Virginia University's School of Medicine in 1982, did his residency at the University of Florida and has made the Sunshine State home ever since.

From 1986 to 2005, Sponaugle was chief of anesthesiology at the nonprofit Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs. During that time, he incorporated his treatment practice under the name Florida Detox Inc. and used his office at the hospital to see patients for a controversial anesthesia-assisted addiction treatment.

Today, Sponaugle runs his Florida Detox & Wellness Institute from a column-fronted office that sits next to a home health services firm on Florida's busy, six-lane U.S. 19.

Sponaugle's website, sponauglewellnessinstitute.com, states that he provides programs for 14 brain-related ailments, including brain trauma, Alzheimer's disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Sponaugle said that 70 percent to 80 percent of his patients come to him for something other than addiction. Numerous patient testimonials on addiction and various ailments including Alzheimer's are posted on his website.

Kosar found Sponaugle after doing research on the Internet and arrived at the clinic within days of a widely publicized appearance on "The Hooligans," a Cleveland-based ESPN radio show. Kosar's speech was badly slurred and rambling as the show's host tried to cut the interview short, saying, "I'll tell you what, man . . . why don't we catch up next week." But Kosar insisted, "No, I'll talk for the rest of the segment."

Kosar, who later said he called in to the show from Florida, divides his time between Florida and central Ohio, where his girlfriend, Tami Longaberger, lives.

His life since football has included a messy public divorce that included allegations of "increasingly bizarre and erratic behavior and various other addictions," according to a May 2006 Miami Herald article. The divorce filings were sealed at Kosar's request, and the former player verbally dismissed his wife's allegations.

After the divorce, Kosar faced financial troubles and physical pain.

In 2009, a Miami Herald columnist wrote about the former University of Miami star's life post-football. The former player revealed a scar from surgery to fuse disks in his broken back, and he talked of hip replacement. His walk was described as wobbly.

Kosar said that by the time he met Sponaugle, he had seen many doctors but failed to find relief from years of headaches, insomnia, slurred speech and a persistent ringing in his ears.

Sponaugle declined during several interviews to provide details about Kosar's condition when he arrived at the clinic. But he did say that Kosar had previously been prescribed pain pills by doctors and that more recently he had been given sleeping pills.

Sponaugle said of Kosar's "Hooligans" appearance, "The day he did that interview, he probably took too many sleeping pills." And, he added, "He doesn't need them now. Ask him."

Sponaugle said he has cared for other former NFL players.

"Bernie didn't want to admit he was having trouble grabbing words because he's got a genius IQ," Sponaugle said, referring to Kosar's fast-tracked college graduation as a finance major at the University of Miami in South Florida.

"What happens is, he can compensate better," Sponaugle said. "A genius IQ can get more brain trauma."

Kosar's treatment for what he describes as his concussion-related problems began with four days at Sponaugle's Florida clinic. He spent a total of 15 days there in December and was expected to return in January, according to Sponaugle.

The treatments included administering an intravenous tube and dietary supplements, both Kosar and Sponaugle have confirmed. But neither will say what the supplements were nor what was fed through the IV tube. IVs are typically used to deliver fluid, nutrients and medication to the body.

Sponaugle calls the contents of his IV drip proprietary and said Kosar was awake throughout his treatment.

Dr. Robert Cantu, a Boston University neurosurgeon and brain-injury researcher, said using IV therapies and supplements to treat brain trauma "is not standard practice."

Omega 3 oils and DHA, among other nutritional supplements, have been tried but none have been proved in double-blind studies to be effective, Cantu said.

The theory, he says, is that such supplements, many of which are known to be anti-inflammatory agents, improve blood flow to the brain, helping to heal damage. But Cantu, a renowned concussion researcher, says he is not aware that such therapies have been shown to improve post-concussion syndrome.

"It is something that has not been validated by medicine," Cantu said. "It's someone doing his own thing -- though [Kosar] has the right to seek out help from whomever he wants to seek it."

Kosar's first public mention of Sponaugle's treatment was at the news conference. It was the same day that ESPN reported that former NFL linebacker Junior Seau, who committed suicide in May, had suffered from the type of chronic brain damage found in dozens of deceased former NFL players. The linebacker's brain showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a neurodegenerative disease that can lead to dementia, memory loss and depression.

During the news conference, which took place at a hotel in a Cleveland suburb, Kosar said, "There are hundreds, if not thousands, of guys who are dealing with issues and pain and stuff. . . . This [treatment] isn't something I think a lot of guys know about, whether it's the younger kids playing or the ex-NFL players. I don't think a lot of people know there is hope for them."

The interest in concussion and its causes, long-term effects and possible cures has increased in recent years. In 2009, as news reports about former players' medical treatment received national attention, Congress held hearings on the cognitive dangers of professional football and, in response, the NFL adopted rules designed to better protect players. The league also has given millions for research.

More than 200 concussion-related lawsuits have been filed against the league in recent years. Rising concern over the safety of the sport prompted ESPN and PBS to establish a database that tracks every concussion and head injury on a weekly basis.

So, as an estimated 179 million people gather in front of TV sets nationwide today to watch Super Bowl XLVII, the specter of hard hits and injuries that have become commonplace in every game may seem more ominous than in the past.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said that league Commissioner Roger Goodell has talked with Kosar about his treatment and about Sponaugle.

"We're always looking to listen to any information that may be helpful," Aiello said, adding that the league is committed to staying up-to-date on all the latest research.

Sponaugle cites Dr. Daniel Amen as one of his inspirations for pursuing brain science. He said that he began "hanging out" with Amen -- a best-selling author and founder of a national chain of psychiatric clinics -- in 2003 and that he has referred some of his patients to Amen's clinics.

In a May 2012 post on his website, Sponaugle wrote that he has used Amen's research and brain-imaging techniques in his addiction practice since 2004. The post goes on to say, "Since then, I have treated many NFL and college level football players who developed Oxycontin addiction from their football injuries."

When asked about Amen over dinner, Sponaugle said, "I am so much farther along than he is, and everybody who comes to me and been to him already knows it."

Amen, a psychiatrist who is affiliated with the University of California at Irvine, published a study titled "Reversing Brain Damage in Former NFL Players" in the January-March 2011 issue of Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. He recruited 100 retired NFL players, representing 27 teams, for his research.

Over an average time of six months, players were given "a really smart, multiple vitamin, high-dose fish oil and a brain supplement," Amen said during a phone interview. Staff members at his clinics also taught the players "to avoid anything that would hurt their brain and do things that would help their brain." They received education on proper nutrition, regular exercise, alcohol consumption, drug abuse, cigarette smoking and sleep.

According to the self-described limited study, "participants reported increases in memory (69%), attention (53%), mood (38 %), motivation (38%) and sleep (25%)."

Amen said he didn't know what Sponaugle has been doing with NFL players. Then he added, "I have sent him people for addictions and I know he and I think a lot alike using natural ways to try to enhance brain function . . . so you know we've worked on a lot of people over the years together. My guess is [the approach on treating brain trauma is] pretty similar."

Sponaugle and Amen use scans that detect brain activity in their treatments. With Kosar, Sponaugle said, he viewed a PET scan of the quarterback's brain before treatment began and found damage.

Sponaugle said he hoped to send Kosar for a follow-up scan and that he would soon release the images to the public. In an appearance on CNN on Friday, Sponaugle displayed "before" and "after" brain scans and said there was improvement.

In response to Sponaugle's statement, Boston's Cantu said concussion-linked neurodegenerative disease, CTE, "is not reversible right now." But "it's possible that Bernie Kosar does not have it. He might just have post-concussion syndrome."

Cantu says there have been cases in which those suffering from post-concussion syndrome have had their symptoms improve, though it usually happens a few months or a year after they retired from a sport such as football. Kosar retired from football in 1996.

Neurologist Robert Stern of Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy has a National Institutes of Health grant to study CTE.

When asked about Sponaugle's practices, Stern said, "Let me say the positive things first: Any treatment that would result in the overall improved health of a patient, including weight loss, increased exercise and improved nutrition, would likely have a big benefit for anyone, including those with brain disorder. So, if Dr. Sponaugle's treatment approach does that, it should be applauded."

A typical patient's first appointment with Sponaugle takes about two hours, according to the doctor.

"You know what they get from me?" he said. "They get a psychiatrist, a neurologist -- they all know this after they are there, they've been everywhere else -- a gastroneurologist . . . I'm an immunologist . . . I'm an infectious-disease guy now."

Sponaugle said he reads "between 20 and 30 hours some weeks of brain science." He has not published research on the topic of brain science, nor does he have other published work, according to a search on the National Institutes of Health's U.S. National Library of Medicine using the names Rick Sponaugle and his given name, Marvin Sponaugle.

Sponaugle said he has a lot of data on the work he has done and has performed many studies but that he hasn't had them published because "I do not give all my data away."

"Here's the deal," he continued. "I don't have time to sit around and gather all the data. . . . I'm very busy, and that's OK."

Sponaugle said that over the years he has treated numerous NFL players, wrestlers and other professional athletes. But most don't want their names revealed.

Kosar was willing to go public, Sponaugle said, because "he's a good guy."

In addition to treating sports figures, Sponaugle said he has a couple of celebrities "getting ready to go public for me."

Actress, author and health care advocate Suzanne Somers has spoken out about Sponaugle's treatment for her mold toxicity. In October, Lindsey Lohan's father, Michael, praised Sponaugle's addiction treatment publicly.

Sponaugle said the key to taking care of celebrities is to "treat them like everybody else."

When asked if Kosar paid for his treatment, Sponaugle said the quarterback paid upfront and that "he paid very handsomely, and he should. He's got more money than me, OK, whatever."

Sponaugle uses his charismatic personality to engage those around him. Hours into the dinner at the Ritz, he pauses to take a call and talk to the emergency room doctor attending to his wife. After talking with the doctor about her condition, suggesting caregivers at the hospital and deciding he needed to catch a flight the first thing in the morning, Sponaugle tries to recruit the doctor to his practice.

"We don't do any of that detox crap anymore," he told the doctor. "I fix the brain so fast anymore, Brian. I'd love to have you down there for a week and see it. Actually, they just fall off the drug because they no longer need the drug to quit this or do that.

"This is something that was a theory about two years ago and it happened about a year and a half ago and I'm like, 'You got to be kidding me.' You don't even need to detox them anymore. Isn't that amazing? You actually change the brain so quickly now. You get in an IV deal that does all this stuff."

After ending the call, Sponaugle returns his attention to the dinner conversation. Throughout the evening he repeatedly declines to elaborate about the contents of his IV drip.

"I'm not telling you -- everybody in the world wants to know now for free. After spending all of these years to figure out. Are you kidding me? Are you serious?"

Sponaugle describes the turnaround in Kosar's condition as quick.

"You know when Bernie reversed, truthfully? Four days. All his symptoms were gone," Sponaugle said.

"You know why I haven't told people that? Because nobody's going to believe that."

-- With Plain Dealer reporter Evelyn Theiss.

Plain Dealer researcher Jo Ellen Corrigan and reporter Tom Reed contributed to this story.