Curcumin and Yoga Therapy for Those at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease

Summary

Physical exercise has proven to improve memory including in the elderly. Drugs developed to stop the underlying disease processes that cause Alzheimer's disease may succeed only with multimodal efforts to stimulate brain function. One purpose of the study is to test the clinical benefits of curcumin, a safe and effective compound isolated from the turmeric root (a component of Indian curry spices), which has been found to inhibit several potential disease pathways in Alzheimer's disease. Another purpose of this study is to determine how the addition of a physical exercise program in individuals with early memory problems may affect memory function or brain imaging and blood-based markers associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Timeline

Start

2014-01-20

Primary completion

2020-03-16

Completion

2020-12-31

Publications

• Background Begum AN, Jones MR, Lim GP, Morihara T, Kim P, Heath DD, Rock CL, Pruitt MA, Yang F, Hudspeth B, Hu S, Faull KF, Teter B, Cole GM, Frautschy SA. Curcumin structure-function, bioavailability, and efficacy in models of neuroinflammation and Alzheimer's disease. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2008 Jul;326(1):196-208. doi: 10.1124/jpet.108.137455. Epub 2008 Apr 16.
• Background Frautschy SA, Cole GM. Why pleiotropic interventions are needed for Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurobiol. 2010 Jun;41(2-3):392-409. doi: 10.1007/s12035-010-8137-1. Epub 2010 May 2.
• Background Frautschy SA, Hu W, Kim P, Miller SA, Chu T, Harris-White ME, Cole GM. Phenolic anti-inflammatory antioxidant reversal of Abeta-induced cognitive deficits and neuropathology. Neurobiol Aging. 2001 Nov-Dec;22(6):993-1005. doi: 10.1016/s0197-4580(01)00300-1.
• Background Garcia-Alloza M, Borrelli LA, Rozkalne A, Hyman BT, Bacskai BJ. Curcumin labels amyloid pathology in vivo, disrupts existing plaques, and partially restores distorted neurites in an Alzheimer mouse model. J Neurochem. 2007 Aug;102(4):1095-104. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2007.04613.x. Epub 2007 Apr 30.
• Background Geda YE, Roberts RO, Knopman DS, Christianson TJ, Pankratz VS, Ivnik RJ, Boeve BF, Tangalos EG, Petersen RC, Rocca WA. Physical exercise, aging, and mild cognitive impairment: a population-based study. Arch Neurol. 2010 Jan;67(1):80-6. doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2009.297.
• Background Gota VS, Maru GB, Soni TG, Gandhi TR, Kochar N, Agarwal MG. Safety and pharmacokinetics of a solid lipid curcumin particle formulation in osteosarcoma patients and healthy volunteers. J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Feb 24;58(4):2095-9. doi: 10.1021/jf9024807.
• Background Jankowsky JL, Melnikova T, Fadale DJ, Xu GM, Slunt HH, Gonzales V, Younkin LH, Younkin SG, Borchelt DR, Savonenko AV. Environmental enrichment mitigates cognitive deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. J Neurosci. 2005 May 25;25(21):5217-24. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5080-04.2005.
• Background Lazarov O, Robinson J, Tang YP, Hairston IS, Korade-Mirnics Z, Lee VM, Hersh LB, Sapolsky RM, Mirnics K, Sisodia SS. Environmental enrichment reduces Abeta levels and amyloid deposition in transgenic mice. Cell. 2005 Mar 11;120(5):701-13. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2005.01.015.
• Background Liang KY, Mintun MA, Fagan AM, Goate AM, Bugg JM, Holtzman DM, Morris JC, Head D. Exercise and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in cognitively normal older adults. Ann Neurol. 2010 Sep;68(3):311-8. doi: 10.1002/ana.22096.
• Background Lim GP, Chu T, Yang F, Beech W, Frautschy SA, Cole GM. The curry spice curcumin reduces oxidative damage and amyloid pathology in an Alzheimer transgenic mouse. J Neurosci. 2001 Nov 1;21(21):8370-7. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.21-21-08370.2001.
• Background Ma QL, Yang F, Rosario ER, Ubeda OJ, Beech W, Gant DJ, Chen PP, Hudspeth B, Chen C, Zhao Y, Vinters HV, Frautschy SA, Cole GM. Beta-amyloid oligomers induce phosphorylation of tau and inactivation of insulin receptor substrate via c-Jun N-terminal kinase signaling: suppression by omega-3 fatty acids and curcumin. J Neurosci. 2009 Jul 15;29(28):9078-89. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1071-09.2009.
• Background Scarmeas N, Luchsinger JA, Brickman AM, Cosentino S, Schupf N, Xin-Tang M, Gu Y, Stern Y. Physical activity and Alzheimer disease course. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2011 May;19(5):471-81. doi: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181eb00a9.
• Background Yang F, Lim GP, Begum AN, Ubeda OJ, Simmons MR, Ambegaokar SS, Chen PP, Kayed R, Glabe CG, Frautschy SA, Cole GM. Curcumin inhibits formation of amyloid beta oligomers and fibrils, binds plaques, and reduces amyloid in vivo. J Biol Chem. 2005 Feb 18;280(7):5892-901. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M404751200. Epub 2004 Dec 7.
• Background Gifford KA, Liu D, Romano R 3rd, Jones RN, Jefferson AL. Development of a subjective cognitive decline questionnaire using item response theory: a pilot study. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2015 Dec 1;1(4):429-439. doi: 10.1016/j.dadm.2015.09.004.
• Yassine HN, Hugo C, O'Donovan B, Stephens IO, Johnson LA, Cole G, Tcw J, Johansson J, Kisler K, Chiba-Falek O. APOE-Targeted Therapeutics for Alzheimer's Disease. J Neurosci. 2025 Nov 12;45(46):e1388252025. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1388-25.2025.

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