Curcummin in curry helps with alzheimers

[Nancy Waterman]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7238650&src=eDialog/GetContent§ion=news

The pigment that gives curry spice its yellow hue may also be able to break up the "plaques" that mark the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, early research suggests.

Scientists found that curcumin, a component of the yellow curry spice turmeric, was able to reduce deposits of beta-amyloid proteins in the brains of elderly lab mice that ate curcumin as part of their diets.

In addition, when the researchers added low doses of curcumin to human beta-amyloid proteins in a test tube, the compound kept the proteins from aggregating and blocked the formation of the amyloid fibers that make up Alzheimer's plaques.

Accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins in the brain is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

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