Scientists have found evidence that vitamin D3, together with a chemical found in turmeric spice called curcumin, may help protect the brain from the damage inflicted by Alzheimers disease.
The research conducted by scientists from UCLA, UC Riverside and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute found the compounds do so by helping stimulate the immune system to clear the brain of amyloid beta, which forms the plaques typical of Alzheimers disease.
The scientists used blood samples from nine Alzheimers patients, one patient with mild cognitive impairment and three healthy control subjects, to isolate monocyte cells, which transform into macrophages that are at the forefront of the immune system waste disposal process.
Curcuminoids, they found, boosted the surface binding of amyloid beta to macrophages, and vitamin D strongly stimulated the absorption of amyloid beta in macrophages in a majority of patients.
“We hope that both [of these] naturally occurring nutrients may offer new preventive and treatment possibilities for Alzheimers disease,” says Dr. Milan Fiala, a researcher at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
“Since vitamin D and curcumin work differently with the immune system, we may find that a combination of the two or each used alone may be more effective, depending on the individual patient,” he adds.
Turmeric is a perennial herb related to ginger, native to tropical South Asia, which has long been recognized in alternative medicine for its antiseptic and antibacterial properties.
Meanwhile, vitamin D3 can be taken in the form of nutritional supplements. 