Turmeric drug hailed as modern elixir of life in dementia battle
A CURRY spice could hold the key to combating Alzheimer’s disease, it was claimed yesterday.
A drug made from turmeric can reverse ageing in brain cells, scientists said.
It could pave the way for treating dementia and is nearly ready for clinical trials on humans.
Dubbed a “modern elixir of life”, in tests on mice and flies, the drug, called, J147, made ageing cells appear more youthful by binding proteins found in mitochondria, the energy-generators within cells.
It was first developed in 2011, but it is only now that scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California, have worked out exactly what it does.
The special “elixir” was formulated by modifying a molecule found in turmeric which is a spice used in cooking curry.
Professor Dave Schubert, senior researcher, said: “This really glues together everything we know about J147 in terms of the link between ageing and Alzheimer’s.” Currently, there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s which causes nerve cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain leading to dementia. During the course of the disease, the brain shrinks dramatically, affecting nearly all its functions. In the UK, about 850,000 people suffer from dementia, costing the NHS £26billion a year.