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Amazing! We use turmeric almost every day in our cooking but probably not in the kinds of quantities that would make a difference. NIMHANS in Bangalore is a very reputed institution. Moneesha Wife of Prem 62/56/54? Calcutta, India On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 2:51 PM, M.Schild <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Turmeric for Parkinson's > > Subhra Priyadarshini > The researchers: Mythri, Bharath, JagathaThe researchers: Mythri, Bharath, > Jagatha > > Curcumin, the wonder compound in turmeric, has found another possible > therapeutic use — this time for treatment of Parkinson's Disease1. > > Researchers conducting experiments on mice have shown that curcumin > increased > the content of glutathione (GSH), an anti-oxidant in certain nerve cells of > the brain that control body movement. The increased GSH protects the brain > against abnormal accumulation of toxic free radicals that damage the > mitochondria of these nerve cells triggering off Parkinson's Disease (PD). > > "During Parkinson's, there is a gradual death of specific nerve cells > called > dopaminergic neurons in the mid-brain. If we understand why these cells > die, > we can slow the process down or reverse it by developing better therapies," > says M. M. Srinivas Bharath, the lead researcher. > > During early PD, there is a significant depletion of GSH leading to > abnormal > accumulation of toxic free radicals. These free radicals damage > mitochondria, > the powerhouse of the cell, ultimately killing the nerve cells. "So, if we > could prevent depletion of GSH in mid-brain nerve cells, we could protect > nerve cells against degeneration," Bharath says. > > The team found that selective GSH depletion in mid-brain nerve cells > damaged > mitochondria mimicking an early PD condition. To protect against this > insult, > they administered curcumin. The compound protected mouse brain and nerve > cells in culture by increasing the GSH content and protecting against toxic > free radicals thus exhibiting therapeutic potential in early PD. > > To support this conclusion, the team used computer simulations and > biochemical > experiments. They simulated disease pathways of PD using mathematics and > computer modeling to generate a virtual experimental system that gives a > complete picture of disease cascades and potential therapeutic targets. > Using > this 'in silico' model, they corroborated that curcumin could be a > potential > therapeutic compound in PD. > > The authors of this work are from: Department of Neurochemistry, National > Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Hosur Road, Bangalore, > Karnataka, India; Cell works group Inc., Marathahalli, Bangalore & Pierce > Road, Saratoga, CA, USA. > > * > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto: > [log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn