Potential treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

using curcumin

What is Alzheimer’s?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. It is characterized by

progressive cognitive degeneration together with declining activities of daily living and
behavioral changes. It is common type of pre-senile and senile dementia. According to world
health organization (WHO).5% of men and women of above 60 years are affected with
Alzheimer’s type dementia worldwide. Alzheimer’s disease was discovered in 1907 by Dr.Alois
Alzheimer, a German medical researcher who described a unique and destructive pathology in
his patient’s brains.AD primarily involves the parts of brain that control thought, memory, and
language.ad evolves slowly. At first its only symptom may be mild forgetfulness. As the disease
progress more serious symptoms arise
NEUROPATHOLOGY:

1. The pathology of brain exhibiting the disease shows two distinct characteristics that result in
major neuronal loss.

2. These include extra cellular plaques and intracellular tangles found in the hippocampus,
cerebral cortex, and other areas that are crucial for cognitive functioning.

3. Plaques are formed mostly from the deposition of beta amyloid. a beta is formed after
sequential deavage of the amyloidal precursor protein(app), a transmembrane glycoprotein that
penetrates through the neuronal membrane. App is critical to neuron growth, survival and post-
inquiry repair.

4. In AD an unknown process causes APP to be divided into smaller fragments by enzymes

through proteolysis.

5. Tangles are formed from paired helical filaments composed of neuro filament and
hyperphosphorelated tau protein.

6. There is an increased presence of monocytes/macrophages in the cerebral vessel wall and

reactive or activated microglia cells in the adjacent parenchyma

7. Amyloid plaques are known to cause oxidative damage in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers.

8. Free radicals generated by beta amyloid and other factors and other factors, such as
mitochondrial abnormalities in cells, inadequate energy supply, inflammation, or abnormal
changes in natural antioxidant defenses, may play a role in the pathophysiology of AD.
Studies on CURCUMIN:

1. Effects of curcumin were observed in an animal model of AD in which human Aβ1–40 and
Aβ1–42 were infused with a lipoprotein chaperone into the cerebral ventricles of aged
female rats.
2. Such rats develop Aβ deposits, neurodegeneration, and memory impairment. Reduced
levels of 8-EPI-F2 isoprostanes, an oxidative produce of arachidonic acid, and normal
levels of synaptophysin, a marker of synaptic integrity were seen in curcumin (2000
ppm), but not ibuprofen-fed rats. Both curcumin and ibuprofen-fed rats had decreased
microglial activity. Increased microglial staining was seen in areas surrounding amyloid
plaques.
3. Measurement of the spatial memory and post-synaptic density 95 (PSD-95) levels, a
synaptic protein that anchors N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, in the brains of
younger rats infused with a higher dose of Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42 was done, Rats fed with
curcumin (500 ppm) showed reduced path length and latency in finding the hidden
platform in the Morris water maze test, demonstrating superior memory function
compared to control-fed rats
4. Increased PSD-95 and decreased Aβ-stained area also were seen in curcumin-fed rats.
These studies suggest that curcumin ameliorates both the pathology and cognitive deficits
induced by Aβ infusion in rats.

These findings provide evidence that curcumin can ameliorate the pathology and cognitive
deficits in animal models of AD.
 2. Subsequently performed fluorescence studies demonstrate that curcumin binds to
amyloid plaques in human AD and Tg2576 transgenic mouse brain tissue in-vitro.
3. Furthermore, curcumin was found to bind to amyloid plaques when such mice were either
fed curcumin or curcumin injected in the carotid artery.
4. Curcumin was a better A-beta 40 aggregation inhibitor and it destabilizes the A-beta
polymer. In in vitro studies, curcumin inhibits aggregation as well as disaggregates to
form fibrillar A-beta 40.
5. studies showed that using fluorescence spectroscopic analysis with thioflavin T and
electron microscopic studies, curcumin destabilizes the fA-beta(1-40) and fA-beta(1-42)
as well as their extension. .Curcumin-derived isoxazoles and pyrazoles bind to the
amyloid beta peptide (Abeta) and inhibit amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolism.
6. Curcumin given to APPswe/PS1dE9 mice for 7 days crosses the blood-brain barrier as
demonstrated by multi-photon microscopy and reduces the existing senile plaques.

ADVANTAGES:

1. Curcumin scores over NSAIDS due to its multipronged action.

2. Long-term use of NSAIDS leads to complications like hepatotoxicity which is not seen in
curcumin.
 3. Even if used for long periods it doesn’t it doesn’t produce side effects.

4. USFDA has classified curcumin as GRAS- generally recognized as safe.

CONCLUSION:

Based on the main findings detailed above, curcumin will lead to a promising treatment
for AD & a particularly promising natural agent in fighting the ravages of aging and
degenerative diseases.

The clinically studied chemical properties of curcumin and its various effects an AD shows the
possibility to do further research and develop better drugs based on curcumin for treating AD.

References:

1. Harrington Charles, Rickard Janet E, Horsley David, et al (July 2008). "Methylthioninium

chloride (MTC) acts as a Tau aggregation inhibitor (TAI) in a cellular model and reverses Tau
pathology in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease". Alzheimer's & Dementia
(Alzheimer’s Association)

2. Hawkes CA, McLaurin J (November 2007). "Curcumin for Alzheimer's disease". Expert Rev
Neurother.

Document By
SANTOSH BHARADWAJ REDDY
Email: help@matlabcodes.com
Engineeringpapers.blogspot.com
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