Garlic is well known for its ability to fight the common cold, however, Curtin researchers have also discovered that an odourless aged extract of the root vegetable may help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease and even reverse its effects.<\/p>\n
Memory loss, disorientation, emotional unpredictability, weakening motor skills, loss of speech. The symptoms of Alzheimer\u2019s are well established, but despite the first case of the chronic neurodegenerative disease being documented more than 100 years ago, medical scientists have yet to determine what causes it, how to prevent it, or how to cure it.<\/p>\n
With close to 50 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, a number expected to more than double by 2050, research into the disease has become increasingly important.<\/p>\n
For the past ten years, Senior Research Fellow Associate Professor Ryu Takechi, from the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI), and his team have been investigating the connection between cognitive impairment and subtypes of dementia, including Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Takechi has focused his team\u2019s efforts around mounting evidence suggesting it is linked to breaches in the blood-brain barrier, a layer of tightly opposed cells lined with microscopic blood vessels called capillaries that regulates the transportation of molecules in and out of the brain.<\/p>\n
When breaches occur, harmful molecules may enter the brain \u2013 including amyloid beta, a mysterious protein that causes the death of neurons and, in doing so, is believed to contribute to the development of Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur research identifies the factors that break down the brain\u2019s capillaries and that can protect or restore the function of the blood-brain barrier integrity. Restoring and reversing a patient\u2019s memory function is our ultimate goal,\u201d Takechi says.<\/p>\n