By E. J. Mundell
WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) – Diets rich in curcumin, a compound found in the curry spice turmeric, may help explain why rates of Alzheimer's disease are much lower among the elderly in India compared with their Western peers.
In studies with rats, curcumin "not only reduces the amyloid, but also reduces the [brain's] response to the amyloid," according to researcher Dr. Sally Frautschy of the University of California, Los Angeles. She presented her findings Thursday at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, California.
Previous studies have noted that elderly individuals living in Indian villages appear to have the lowest incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the world, with just 1% of those 65 years of age and older affected by the degenerative brain condition. The reasons for this low incidence remain unclear, however.
Dr. Frautschy speculated that curcumin in curry could provide a clue to this puzzle since the compound has "a long history of dietary and herbal medicinal use" and is also a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.
In her study, Dr. Frautschy fed middle-aged (9 months old) and aged (22 months old) rats diets rich in curcumin. All of the rats had received brain injections of amyloid to mimic progressive Alzheimer's disease.
"Curcumin reduced the accumulation of beta-amyloid and the associated loss of proteins" in the synapses…between individual brain cells, Dr. Frautschy reported.
Evidence of possible memory preservation was also observed. Rats fed curcumin performed much better in memory-dependent maze tests compared with rats on normal diets, according to Dr. Frautschy. Curcumin also appeared to reduce Alzheimer's-related inflammation in neurologic tissue.
Because "a combined anti-inflammatory and antioxidant approach will be useful for Alzheimer's prevention or treatment," Dr. Frautschy speculates that curcumin could be especially valuable in the fight against the disease, especially in combination with anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. Her team is hopeful they will soon receive funding for clinical trials to investigate curcumin-ibuprofen combination therapy.
Curcumin may not be the only compound in the kitchen spice rack able to protect against Alzheimer's disease. In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Frautschy said that "chemicals from rosemary (rosmarinic acid) and ginger (vanillin and zingerone, also high in Indian diets) have similar structure and should be tested."
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