치매 치료 보조제로서 커큐민의 유효성 및 안전성에 대한 문헌고찰

Literature Review of Curcumin as an Adjuvant for the Treatment of Dementia Disease

Curcumin is a polyphenol compound derived from Curcuma longa and possesses potential for alternative option in the management of Alzheimer’s disease. In this literature review, we aimed to evaluate results reported in clinical studies, particularly focusing on efficacy and safety of curcumin in the management of Alzheimer’s disease. A total of 806 articles were searched in the Pubmed and clinicaltrials.gov databases. Four records of the articles were clinically related with Alzheimer’s disease: two phase 1 studies, two phase 2 studies, and all of which being randomized placebo-controlled prospective studies. In phase 1 studies with elderly population having no memory or cognition impairment, curcumin showed beneficial effect on mood and cognition. However, in phase 2 studies with Alzheimer’s disease patients having memory and cognition loss, curcumin failed to show benefits. The inconsistent results might be probably because of short study duration as well as quality differences of curcumin products used in clinical studies. In conclusion, although curcumin might be an alternative option in the prevention of the Alzheimer’s disease, further research is warranted to match in-vitro results with clinical outcomes.