Effects of turmeric on Alzheimer's disease with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia
An 84-year-old female presented at our hospital with the purpose of taking medical advice for progressive dementia. Her symptoms were forgetfulness, disorientation to place and time, hallucination, delusion, agitation, irritability, depression, apathy, confabulation, wandering, and incontinence of urine, which developed several years prior to presentation. She had a history of hypertension. There was no family history of dementia. She was a non-smoker and drank little alcohol. Her physical examination and her laboratory data, including hematograms, biochemistry, and urinalysis were largely normal. At the time of her initial visit, her cognitive decline was already very severe and her MMSE score was 0/30. On cerebral MRI revealed moderate bilateral temporal atrophy with the mild ventricular dilation. AChE inhibitor (donepezil) could not use because of the side-effects. Her BPSD, including agitation, irritability, and anxiety was not improved, though she was prescribed Yokukansan and atypical antipsychotic drugs. We began to administer turmeric 764 mg/day (curcumin 100 mg/day) to her. She gradually calmed down. Her BPSD, which were hallucination, delusion, depression, agitation, apathy, anxiety, and irritability, were relieved. She stopped urinating outside the front door. She came to put on her clothes properly, and distinguish her family from staffs of the care center. After 12 weeks, judging from the Japanese version of NPI-Q, both acuity of BPSD and burden of caregivers were relieved [, Figures and ]. She has been taking turmeric for more than 1 year; she lives in a peacefully serene manner with her family.