Another supplement

Carl is a fellow traveler dealing with MCI whom I've come to know through this blog.  He also has experienced improvement in his condition by attacking it through multiple domains.  In fact, he has written a history of his experience that I found very interesting.  One thing he believes has helped him a lot is taking the supplement Theracurmin twice per day.

Theracurmin is is a formulation of curcurmin, a chemical found in turmeric, that increases its "bioavailability."  You may have turmeric in your spice cabinet, and, if you (like me) love Indian food, you have tasted it in curry dishes many times.  Curcurmin makes curry yellow.  It has a reputation for fighting both inflammation and oxidation -- important weapons in the battle with Alzheimer's disease.  But it also has a reputation for having properties that cause poor bioavailability.  In other words, it may not be absorbed well in the digestive system.  Or, if it gets into the blood stream, it may not be able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.

Several strategies have been employed to increase its bioavailability.  Most include grinding it into extremely fine particles.  Then other substances, like finely ground pepper, can be formulated with it to help move the particles into places they would not otherwise go.  Theracurmin is a water-dispersable colloid of curcurmin that the manufacturer claims significantly increases its bioavailability.    

As we've noted before, strategies to reduce inflammation in the brain by ingesting different products has failed to improve cognition in people with MCI.  Most notable is that clinical trials applying non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, such as namenda, have failed to affect cognition.  Will curcurmin, notably via Theracurmin, produce different results?

While there have been mixed results, several studies have been quite promising.  

In March 2018, the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry published the results of an 18-month, placebo-controlled study that found significant memory and attention benefits from daily use of Theracurmin.  Also, pre- and post-treatment cognitive benefits correlated with changes in amyloid plaque and tau tangle accumulation as measured with PET scans.  The first author of the study was Dr. Gary Small, who is director of the UCLA Longevity Center.  

This is very good news, but the results need to be replicated in further studies.        

Aside from the price tag, all indication is that Theracurmin has no troubling side effects.  Following Carl's lead, I have been taking it now twice daily for several months.  

Has it helped me?  Who knows.  I continue to get daily aerobic exercise, pursue the MIND diet, and do all of the other things we discuss in Beating the Dementia Monster.  My subjective sense it that my cognition has fluctuated since April 2019 with no clear trend.  I'm only able to correlate the fluctuations with my ability (or inability) to control my insomnia.  This, of course, is very subjective.  I'm just one test subject, so there is no control group.  My cognition will be tested again in July, and maybe that will yield some insight.