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

Curcumin and Yoga Exercise Effects in Veterans at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease

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.

Subjects with Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Subjective Cognitive Impairment (SCD) are eligible for this study. MCI often represents the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), as individuals meeting criteria for MCI are subsequently diagnosed with AD at much higher rates than their cognitively normal elderly peers. Subjects with MCI are at risk of developing AD, within 6 years. Subjects with SCD may be at risk to develop MCI. The study is stratified according to whether subjects have SCD or MCI. The goal of the current study is to determine whether dietary supplementation with a novel formulation of curcumin (a component of the curry spice turmeric), which is better absorbed and more efficiently transported into the brain, can alter biological and clinical markers associated with AD risk, and to determine whether the potential beneficial effects of curcumin supplementation are synergistic with aerobic exercise. The investigators will recruit 80 elderly participants meeting criteria for MCI. Over the second 6 months of the study, the curcumin and placebo groups will be further divided into groups receiving training in either aerobic or non-aerobic yoga to determine the synergism between curcumin supplementation and aerobic exercise. The effectiveness of these interventions will be measured using plasma samples (for expression of Alzheimer-related biomarkers), and neuropsychological, functional, and behavioral assessments (i.e. clinical measures) collected at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months after initiation of treatments, with a subset of participants receiving brain imaging at baseline and 6 months. Dosage is titered up two weeks prior to study start (1 capsule BID, first five days, then 2 capsules BID for five days, then 6 capsules BID for five days, then 8 capsules BID- study dosage). Over the first 6 months of the study, participants will be randomized into equal groups receiving dietary supplementation with either curcumin or placebo. Patients are stratified according to whether they have only subjective memory complaints without MCI versus those that have MCI. Over the second 6 months of the study, participants will be further randomized into equal groups receiving dietary supplementation with either curcumin or placebo.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age between 50 and 90 years;
• Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) scores greater than 24;
• subjective cognitive complaints based on subjective cognitive impairment questionaire (Gifford et al. 2015) including non-amnestic or amnestic cognitive deficits MCI (performance 1.5 standard deviation (SD) below normative means on The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) word list learning test);
• essentially intact activities of daily living (FAQ scores < 6);
• Sedentary (exercise < 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week);
• ambulatory, able exercise safely without cardiovascular symptoms, and able to pass a graded treadmill test modified for the elderly;
• able to arrange transportation to the study;
• Willing and intellectually able to understand and to sign an informed consent and to adhere to protocol requirements;
• community dwelling; and
• fluent in written and spoken English
• must screen positive for a Modified abbreviated MCI or SCD screen on phone, before coming in to clinic for extensive testing

Exclusion Criteria:

• diagnosis of dementia,
• concurrent substance abuse disorder,
• psychosis or mood disorder,
• neurological disease affecting motor or cognitive abilities (e.g. Parkinson's disease),or other significant uncontrolled medical problems,
• cannot get up and down from floor
• initiation of any new medications/treatment for cognitive impairment (i.e. cholinesterase inhibitor, memantine) < 6 months prior to study enrollment