CSULB professor fights Alzheimer’s with supplement

[Guest guest]

CSULB professor fights Alzheimer’s with supplement

California State University, Long Beach

Vasanthy Narayanaswami is working toward developing what she calls " good

cholesterol " in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

Narayanaswami, an assistant chemistry and biochemistry professor, discussed Cal

State Long Beach's latest findings at the Pyramid Annex Conference room Nov. 16.

She said there is a direct correlation between specific diet foods and the low

rate of Alzheimer's disease in places like Southeast Asia. In such locations,

the concentration of the antioxidant curcumin, a bioflavonoid or plant compound,

is relatively high.

The good cholesterol she spoke of could potentially carry therapeutic amounts of

this particular bioflavonoid, which in recent studies has been effective against

Alzheimer's disease.

Darin Khumsupan, a student ambassador and a researcher alongside Narayanaswami,

explained that the primary objective of the study is to " destroy plaque,

specifically beta-amyloid, which is one of the leading causes of [the

degenerative disease]. "

Khumsupan joined Narayanaswami in the research over a year ago when her brother

and co-author of the study's first publication introduced her.

Curcumin's chemically rich makeup depletes after the liver metabolizes its

content. Therefore, learning how to bypass digestion of the vital lipid is a

primary goal for Narayanaswani and her team.

Another obstacle for researchers working toward the cure is what Narayanaswami

refers to as " the blood-brain barrier. " Although this internal mechanism serves

to protect the brain from foreign threats, its presence also prevents the

transmission of helpful agents such as curcumin.

Therefore, researchers need to successfully disguise the lipid as what the brain

would recognize as cholesterol. One student equated the biochemical relationship

to the tale of the Trojan horse.

The key to unlocking this agent's potential is through a carefully engineered

disguise, she said.

Similar to how oil and water can mix simply after adding a detergent,

Narayanaswami claimed that high-density lipids, or good cholesterol,

structurally rearrange themselves and provide an effective disguise for the

preventative curcumin to Alzheimer's disease.

Narayanaswami has released seven publications since her arrival at Cal State

Long Beach in 2008, three of which are co-authored by students from the

university.

More than 5.3 million Americans suffer from the debilitating loss of brain cells

and Narayanaswami predicts that by 2025, more than 25 million people worldwide

will fall victim to the disease.

There is no " silver bullet " cure when it comes to Alzheimer's disease,

Narayanaswami said.

The recent findings conducted by Narayanaswami and her team of students suggests

that curcumin has the potential to postpone and possibly reverse the onset of

Alzheimer's disease.

" However, loading up on Indian food where curcumin is most prevalent will not

solve the problem, " Narayanaswami joked.