The use of Curcumin in reducing signs of Alzheimer’s disease Dementia is a drastic failure of cognitive ability that correlates with shrinkage of the hippocampus; the greater the impairment, the likely the smaller the size of the hippocampus. Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, and a form of senile dementia that is characterized by progressive cognitive and sensory impairment in the form of: having a greater difficulty performing tasks, forgetting material that one just read, memory loss, slowed metabolism and atrophy and loss of awareness. With Alzheimer’s being the most common form of dementia, it is estimated that the disease affects 10% of people by the age of 65 and over 50% of people over the age of 85. This disease …show more content…
Due to this, medical professionals have termed the disease “early onset Alzheimer’s” and make a suspected diagnosis due to symptoms characteristic of the disease. A diagnosis is only confirmed by brain biopsy after death. Unfortunately, due to this many answers aren’t found until it is too late. Similarly, as researchers are struggling to find a solution and a cure to Alzheimer’s, the epidemic of people struggling with the disease is rapidly growing. In order to effectively treat and reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, we still need to learn more about b-amyloid buildup and tau protein associated neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, which are characteristic of the disease. Similarly, we need to find if these are linked to APOE4 as those who inherit APOE4 have a greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease because is does not break down proteins (Molenda-Figueira, 2015). In order to alleviate the affects of Alzheimer’s disease, such as memory loss and build up of tau proteins, the natural substance Curcumin should be looked at (Hamaguchi, Ono, & Yamada, 2010). As an anti-inflammatory relative of the turmeric root, this natural, plant based substance shows promising qualities in reducing the effects of Alzheimer’s in mice. (Ma, Zuo, Yang, Ubeda, Gant, Alaverdyan, Teng, Hu, Chen, Maiti, Teter, Cole, & Frautschy, 2012). However, with no replicated studies done on humans, currently, the healing
In times past many people thought that memory loss was a normal occurrence for elderly people. This thinking was major reason for why Alzheimer’s disease was not caught until very later in the stages. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. After heart disease, cancer, and strokes, Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of death in adults in the Western world. “It is estimated that 4.5 million Americans over the age of 65 are affected with this condition. After the age of 65, the incidence of the disease doubles every five years and, by age 85, it will affect nearly half of the population” (Robinson).
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a form of degenerative, fatal dementia, is characterized by progressive cognitive decline. While AD is the most common form of dementia, its prevalence has only recently been recognized. When Alois Alzheimer first described the sequence of changes in 1907, physicians believed the disease to be an extremely rare, mid-life condition. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that the same types of changes were shown to occur in both late- and early-onset forms (Cavanaugh et.al. 2008). As such, almost all knowledge of AD has been learned within the past several decades, with new discoveries being reported almost daily. It is now estimated that Alzheimer’s accounts for as many as 60% of all dementias and affects more than 500,000
Alzheimer’s disease is a complex illness that affects the brain tissue directly and undergoes gradual memory and behavioral changes which makes it difficult to diagnose. It is known to be the most common form of dementia and is irreversible. Over four million older Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple in the next twenty years as more people live into their eighties and nineties. (Johnson, 1989). There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s but throughout the past few years a lot of progress has been made.
Throughout history there have been reports of decreased memory and mental deterioration that accompanied old age. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who described the symptoms in a woman in Germany in the 1907 but it was not until the 1970’s that AD was considered to be a major disorder and AD continues to be a major health concern worldwide (Reger, 2002).
Early-onset Alzheimer’s is a rare, but fast stage of Alzheimer’s disease. According to Glenn E. Smith, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist at Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn. (2014), Early-onset Alzheimer’s is an uncommon form of dementia that strikes about 5 percent of patients with symptoms before the age of 65. This form of Alzheimer’s has been known to develop between the ages 30 and 40, but that’s very uncommon (Smith 2014). Scientists do not have an explanation of why people get the disease younger than others. Early-onset Alzheimer’s that is hereditary in family members is connected to three different genes that differ from the APOE gene that can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s in general (Smith 2014). The innate conduit of inheritance is much stronger in early-onset Alzheimer’s (Smith 2014). If one has a genetic mutation
Alzheimer’s is an irreversible disease normally affecting the elderly population and is progressive in nature causing degeneration that leads to impairments in memory, reasoning, planning, and behaviour. It is a neurodegenerative disorder that adversely affects neurons in the brain, ultimately resulting in loss of memory and language, behavioural disturbances, and dependence on caregivers (Phillips, Baktir, Das, Lin & Salehi, 2015, p. 1047). Alzheimer’s has 3
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a slow-progressing neurodegenerative disease that has no cure and most often affects people over the age of sixty-five. Neurodegeneration is characterized by the loss of function in the central nervous system due to degeneration of neurons found mostly in the brain. The most recent data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that AD is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. The cause of Alzheimer’s is still not completely understood, but the current theory is that it appears to be genetic in which many genes are involved. AD is also the most common form of dementia and accounts for 60-80% of cases (Alzheimer’s Association 2016). Dementia is not a disease itself, but instead is characterized by a group of symptoms that is caused by brain disease or injury in which memory, personality, and reasoning skills are affected.
Damage or lesions to the brain are the main causes of Alzheimer’s disease; the two main causes of these lesions are neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. (4) These are commonly known as plaques and tangles and are caused by the build-up of two proteins. The plaques are a build-up of the protein beta-amyloid (β-amyloid) while the tangles are formed by the build-up of the protein tau, even though both are found in Alzheimer's disease only the β-amyloid plaques are unique to the disease and it is these plaques that are believed to be the primary cause of Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. To date, it is officially ranked as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States; however, recent estimates indicate that the disorder may actually rank third, just behind heart disease and cancer, as a cause of death for older people. Alzheimer’s, also known as senile dementia, is predominantly the most common cause of dementia among older adults. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning and behavioral abilities, particularly thinking, remembering, and reasoning, to such an extent that it interferes with an
The effects of the accumulation of amyloid-β plaques in AD have been more thoroughly researched than the other possible driver of AD, tau pathology (Kim et al., 2009). It was observed that tau seemed to be a better predictor of dementia than amyloid-β plaques (Brier et al., 2006), showing the importance of tau pathology research. While many studies have already shown the interaction of ApoE and amyloid-β driving AD, the relation between ApoE and tau is still unclear. Some studies have suggested that amyloid-β may be driving the hyperphosphorylation of tau and thus, the formation of NFTs downstream in the progression of AD (Lewis et al., 2001; Götz et al., 2001; Oddo et al., 2004). Because of the strong association between ApoE and amyloid-β, it may be that ApoE influence tau indirectly through the presence of amyloid-β plaques.
Now that the disparity between Alzheimer’s disease prevalence in men and women, as well as the different rates of incidence in different countries has been established, it is now applicable to discuss what can be done to prevent this disease. There are many ways that researchers believe people can use to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Studies by researchers have found that cannabinoids could stimulate the brain cells and slow the progression of the disease. Conversely, some believe that Alzheimer’s is impossible to fight, regardless of the precautions taken. This paper will examine Alzheimer’s disease and also explore in depth on the following topics: the prevalence of Alzheimer’s in males vs.
Neurons in the brain are observed to be defended by curcumin against weakening. Curcumin may also shield the brain from injuries caused by oxidation. Scientific study has observed curcumin to be useful in dealing with inflammation. Shrinking plaques is also a thing that curcumin is great at, according to research conducted at Harvard. Seniors who consumed curry having turmeric are seen to have greater mental capabilities than those who don't eat turmeric flavored curry. These are excellent findings and the impacts of turmeric on Alzheimer's disease warrant further exploration.
Along with another protein called APP. If these genes are present it is likely early onset Alzheimer’s will develop. These genes are almost always an indicator of early onset. Having a gene called APOE on the nineteenth chromosome will likely cause late onset Alzheimer’s. Although they cannot completely determine whether or not Alzheimer’s, these tests will help determine the risk of developing this disease.
Shrikant Mishra [8] discussed how curcumin affects the patients of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Curcumin (Turmeric), an ancient Indian herb that is used in making curry powder, has been thoroughly studied in modern medicine and Indian systems of medicine so that it can be used in the treatment of various medical conditions, including cystic fibrosis, haemorrhoids, gastric ulcer, colon cancer, breast cancer, atherosclerosis, liver diseases and arthritis. It has to be used in various types of treatments for dementia and traumatic brain injury. Curcumin displays a pertaining role in the treatment of AD. Curcumin being an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and lipophilic action improves the cerebral functions in patients with AD. Due to various effects
Diabetes Care 2012 published a study that sought to evaluate the effectiveness of curcumin as treatment to prevent Type 2 diabetes in people who were in the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The participants randomly received either placebo capsules or curcumin over the course of nine months. The study revealed that while some participants treated with placebo capsules were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, none were diagnosed in the group that received curcumin.