Alzheimer’s disease is a critical disorder of the brain that severely affects a person’s memory, often to the point where a majority of patients’ can’t even carry out the simplest of daily activities. This debilitating disease usually becomes prominent in the aging population, with symptoms starting to appear after the age of 60, in general. While clinical trials for useful medications are often providing non-satisfactory results, a new study published in “The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry” may bring some particularly optimistic news. The study revealed that regular consumption of curcumin, the most active one of curcuminoids present in turmeric, can be helpful for those suffering from Alzheimer’s. Widely used in the culinary world to offer the curry its yellow color, curcumin mayn’t only avert memory hazards from getting worsened over time, but improve the condition in reality And the most notable result of the study was participants not only experiencing improvement in their cognitive abilities, but witnessing improved capacities of their brain cells too.
The research team, headed by Gary Small from UCLA (The University of California, Los Angeles), randomly selected 40 people in the age group of 50 to 90 for consuming a 90-mg curcumin placebo or supplement on a twice-daily dose for 18 months. The curcumin supplements were prepared to have greater bioavailability than normal, which means they were able to be absorbed and used by the body more readily. All the participants had light memory problems with no evidence of Alzheimer’s disease or any other form of dementia. At the beginning of the study, all of them took tests of cognition and memory, filled out questionnaires to assess mood and depression, and went through brain scans to allow the research team to monitor the deposition of tau “tangles” and “brain gunk” – amyloid-beta plaques, two key indicators of Alzheimer’s. During the 18-month period of the study, the team scanned the brains of the participants, and tested their cognition, memory and mood every 6 months. It’s important to note that this was a double-blind study, which means even the researchers didn’t know about the supplement the participants had been given till after the research was over.
Result of the study showed that the memory functions of the participants who were assigned the supplement enhanced by 28 percent on average over the 18 months’ period. On the other hand, scores of the non-recipient group increased slightly (the reason might be their improved familiarity with the tests) and declined afterwards. Also, the depression scores of the recipients improved as well while no alteration was observed in that of the control group. Another good news was the brain scans of those receiving curcumin showing significantly less deposition of amyloid and tau in two brain regions namely hypothalamus and amygdala that are responsible for memory, decision making, anxiety and emotion. The key side-effects revealed from the study were nausea and abdominal pain.
Being a perfect clinical study, the study’s results are unquestionably promising, more so since it has combined earlier evidence of curcumin’s therapeutic impacts. Over a prolonged time, researchers have observed that in India, some groups of people experience lower occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease, which is thought to be associated with higher consumption of turmeric. According to the indications showed by studies, anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects of curcumin might also be the promoting factors. Some other studies have even demonstrated its significant role in maintaining brain function as one ages. According to researchers, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of curcumin are the fundamental factors behind its neurological effects. Curcumin has been shown to obstruct the deposition of, and even help in breaking down, the amyloid plaques that develop in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. However, some other researchers don’t admit curcumin to be of much help in Alzheimer’s or that it is the right element of turmeric, which needs to be studied.
According to a statement given by Small, though the way how curcumin applies its effects isn’t certain, it may happen due to its efficacy in lowering brain inflammation, which has been associated with both major depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Further plan of the team is to study the probable effectiveness of the curcumin supplement in treating people with severe depression instead of memory problems.
However, it is still unclear whether the results of the study are applicable or not to the general population, and follow-up studies will be required to determine this. This is mainly because the study was quite small and the participants were generally educated, healthy and motivated to complete the long duration of the study.
It’s also unclear whether or not consuming curry on an occasional basis would do any good to the patients of Alzheimer’s. But according to hints revealed by several studies, it can be said that consuming it quite regularly is associated with better cognition as we age, and those who make it a regular part of their diet appear to have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s. To determine the optimal dose for various groups or individuals, more research will need to be conducted. But it can be concluded that if you are fond of curry and consume it fairly often, you’d probably do well in fighting off Alzheimer’s and any other form of dementia, according to this new study.
