Curry May Prevent Alzheimer's Disease

Eating curry containing turmeric once or twice a week could prevent Alzheimer's disease and may researchers are investigating if it can be used as a treatment in those who already have it.

Professor Murali Doraiswamy, director of the Mental Fitness Laboratory at the Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Carolina, has told a conference that curcumin, from which turmeric is made, prevented the spread plaque found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

Plaques build up in the brain and are thought to affect the electrical signals between brain cells producing dementia symptoms.

Prof Doraiswamy told delegates at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Annual Meeting in Liverpool that brain plaques dissolved in mice given high doses of curcumin and in younger mice the spice appeared to prevent them forming in the first place.
 

Trials are currently under way that could lead to a curry pill, he said.

Professor Doraiswamy said: "There is very solid evidence that curcumin binds to plaques, and basic research on animals engineered to produce human amyloid plaques has shown benefits. Turmeric has been studied not just in Alzheimer's research but for a variety of conditions, such as cancer and arthritis. Turmeric is often referred to as the spice of life in ancient Indian medical lore."

Source: http://telegraph.co.uk