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Chemical found in curry may help immune system clear amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer's disease
October 04, 2006UCLA/VA researchers found that curcumin - a chemical found in curry and turmeric - may help the immune system clear the brain of amyloid beta, which form the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease.
Published in the Oct. 9 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, the early laboratory findings may lead to a new approach in treating Alzheimer's disease by enhancing the natural function of the immune system using curcumin, known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.
Using blood samples from six Alzheimer's disease patients and three healthy control patients, the researchers isolated cells called macrophages, which are the immune system's PacMen that travel through the brain and body, gobbling up waste products, including amyloid beta.
The team treated the macrophages with a drug derived from curcumin for 24 hours in a cell culture and then introduced amyloid beta. Treated macrophages from three out of six Alzheimer's disease patients showed improved uptake or ingestion of the waste product compared to the patients' macrophages not treated with curcumin. Macrophages from the healthy controls, which were already effectively clearing amyloid beta, showed no change when curcumin was added.
"Curcumin improved ingestion of amyloid beta by immune cells in 50 percent of patients with Alzheimer's disease. These initial findings demonstrate that curcumin may help boost the immune system of specific Alzheimer's disease patients," said Dr. Milan Fiala, study author and a researcher with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System. "We are hopeful that these positive results in a test tube may translate to clinical use, but more studies need to be done before curcumin can be recommended." The patients ranged in age from 65 to 84. Fiala noted that the patients whose immune cells responded were younger and had higher scores on a Mini-Mental State Examination suggesting that curcumin may help those with less advanced dementia. Some of the patients may have already had additional curcumin in their systems due to participation in another UCLA study, which may have impacted findings.
"Our next step will be to identify the factors that helped these immune cells respond," said Laura Zhang, a study author and a UCLA/VA research assistant in Fiala's lab.
Fiala noted that the method researchers used to test the immune cell response of macrophages may provide a novel way of evaluating the effectiveness of drugs in clearing amyloid beta from the brain and may help to individualize Alzheimer's disease treatment.
According to Fiala, macrophages are the soldiers of the innate immune system - the part of the immune system which is present at birth. Curcumin may support the body's natural immune fighting function in directly helping macrophages clean away amyloid-beta. The treatment of macrophages with curcumin is radically different from some of the vaccine approaches currently being studied.
University of California - Los Angeles
The team treated the macrophages with a drug derived from curcumin for 24 hours in a cell culture and then introduced amyloid beta. Treated macrophages from three out of six Alzheimer's disease patients showed improved uptake or ingestion of the waste product compared to the patients' macrophages not treated with curcumin. Macrophages from the healthy controls, which were already effectively clearing amyloid beta, showed no change when curcumin was added.
"Curcumin improved ingestion of amyloid beta by immune cells in 50 percent of patients with Alzheimer's disease. These initial findings demonstrate that curcumin may help boost the immune system of specific Alzheimer's disease patients," said Dr. Milan Fiala, study author and a researcher with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System. "We are hopeful that these positive results in a test tube may translate to clinical use, but more studies need to be done before curcumin can be recommended." The patients ranged in age from 65 to 84. Fiala noted that the patients whose immune cells responded were younger and had higher scores on a Mini-Mental State Examination suggesting that curcumin may help those with less advanced dementia. Some of the patients may have already had additional curcumin in their systems due to participation in another UCLA study, which may have impacted findings.
"Our next step will be to identify the factors that helped these immune cells respond," said Laura Zhang, a study author and a UCLA/VA research assistant in Fiala's lab.
Fiala noted that the method researchers used to test the immune cell response of macrophages may provide a novel way of evaluating the effectiveness of drugs in clearing amyloid beta from the brain and may help to individualize Alzheimer's disease treatment.
According to Fiala, macrophages are the soldiers of the innate immune system - the part of the immune system which is present at birth. Curcumin may support the body's natural immune fighting function in directly helping macrophages clean away amyloid-beta. The treatment of macrophages with curcumin is radically different from some of the vaccine approaches currently being studied.
University of California - Los Angeles
Immune System Current Events and Immune System News RSSFirst reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells.
New findings suggest strategy to help generate HIV-neutralizing antibodies
New discoveries about anti-HIV antibodies may bring researchers a step closer to creating an effective HIV vaccine, according to a new paper co-authored by scientists at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
UAB Researchers Discover Antibody Receptor Identity, Propose Renaming Immune-System Gene
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders.
New culprit for viral infections among elderly -- an overactive immune response
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that exaggerated responses of the immune system explain why the elderly succumb to viral infections more readily than younger people.
Women at risk from vitamin A deficiency
Almost half of UK women could be suffering from a lack of vitamin A due to a previously undiscovered genetic variation, scientists at Newcastle University have found.
Immune system activated in schizophrenia
Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered that patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their brains. Their findings offer hope of being able to treat schizophrenia with drugs that affect the immune system.
Thoughtful words help couples stay fighting fit
Couples who bring thoughtful words to a fight release lower amounts of stress-related proteins, suggesting that rational communication between partners can ease the impact of marital conflict on the immune system.
Largest gene study of childhood IBD identifies 5 new genes
In the largest, most comprehensive genetic analysis of childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an international research team has identified five new gene regions, including one involved in a biological pathway that helps drive the painful inflammation of the digestive tract that characterizes the disease.
Faithful mothers have healthier babies
Faculty of 1000 reviewers examine a study from New Zealand on whether prolonged exposure to the father's semen protects new mothers against pre-eclampsia and having an undersized baby
Hoping for a fluorescent basket case
Although recent advances have raised hopes that a protective vaccine can be developed, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) remains a major public health problem.
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