Curcumin, the yellow substance in turmeric and curry, has a long medicinal history in India, and in recent years has received increasing attention from medical researchers as a possible treatment for a variety of ailments. Recent work at the University of California, Los Angeles, has now revealed a new application: curcumin interferes with the biochemical process responsible for the formation of destructive plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
The work at UCLA included three types of experiments: (1) outside of the body, curcurmin showed an ability to bind to the protein that forms Alzheimer’s plaques, thereby preventing plaque formation; (2) when mice were injected with curcumin, the curcumin became attached to Alzheimer’s plaques in the brain; (3) when mice with advanced Alzheimer’s Disease were fed curcumin, the amount of plaque material in the brain was reduced.
On the basis of these promising results, a small clinical trial is being planned to test curcumin as a treatment for human Alzheimer’s Disease.
Links to news articles about clinical trial:
Curcumin under human trials for Alzheimer's prevention
Curry Spice May Fight Alzheimer's
Link to abstract of research article that led to clinical trial:
