If you’ve ever known anyone with Alzheimer’s Disease, you know how devastating this horrible problem can be. The afflicted person gradually loses everything that had made them who they are. Their memories fade. Their ability to relate with others, even their closest family members, erodes. Ultimately they’re in complete isolation and completely unable to care for themselves..

As bad as it is for the person with Alzheimer’s, in some ways it’s even worse for the family. It’s horrible to watch this slow deterioration take place. Caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s have extremely high rates of depression.

It would be great if we could prevent this disease. We may be making some progress in that direction.

While we don’t have a perfect answer yet, a recent study in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease reports some interesting findings. The study shows that two safe and readily available supplements may help in preventing Alzheimer’s.

I’ll tell you about the study and these supplements in a moment, but first a want to give you a little background.

We really don’t know what causes Alzheimer’s. About 25% seem to have a genetic component. For the other 75% of victims, we really don’t know what the cause is. It appears to be a combination of a predisposition and environmental factors, possibly including diet.

Some research suggests that chronic, low-grade inflammation plays a role.

Whatever the cause, the distinguishing feature of Alzheimer’s is to build up of a polypeptide called amyloid in the brain. As the amyloid builds up, its forms plaques that lead to the cognitive decline typical of Alzheimer’s.

The body does have some degree of protection against amyloid buildup. Specialize white cells can differentiate into cells called macrophages that can remove the amyloid as it forms. The study I mentioned earlier was designed to see if nutrients could improve the ability of macrophages to clear amyloid.

Previous studies have suggested that vitamin D (specifically vitamin D3) and curcumin may be protective against Alzheimer’s. In the recently reported study, researchers collected white blood cells from nine patients with Alzheimer’s disease as well as some normal volunteers. They incubated the white cells from both groups in the presence of amyloid.

They then added vitamin D and curcumin to the mixture, both individually and together and watched what happened.

The results were dramatic. Both supplements ncreased the macrophages’ ability to ingest and remove amyloid.

With some patients white cells, one of the other of the supplements had a greater effect. In others, the effects were synergistic - the results of adding both vitamin D and curcumin were more than the additive effects of each individual.

In their usual conservative fashion, the researchers pointed out that this is a preliminary study and they do not make any clinical recommendations.

However, we’d have to wait a very long time to make a decision on the basis of solid clinical trials. From my viewpoint, both vitamin D and curcumin (a major component of the spice turmeric) are safe enough and have enough other beneficial effects that I consider it very reasonable to begin supplementing with them now.

Bookmark to: