Abstract
AD is a chronic neurodegenerative disease. Many different signaling pathways, such as Wnt/β-catenin, Notch, ROS/JNK, and PI3K/Akt/mTOR are involved in Alzheimer’s disease and crosstalk between themselves. A promising treatment involves the uses of flavonoids, and one of the most promising is curcumin; however, because it has difficulty permeating the blood–brain barrier (BBB), it must be encapsulated by a drug carrier. Some of the most frequently studied are lipid nanocarriers, liposomes, micelles and PLGA. These carriers are further conjugated with brain-targeting agents such as lactoferrin and transferrin. In this review paper, curcumin and its therapeutic effects, which have been examined in vivo, are analyzed and then the delivery systems to the brain are addressed. Overall, the analysis of the literature revealed great potential for curcumin in treating AD and indicated the challenges that require further research.
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder which is characterized by confusion, memory loss, and cognitive decline [1,2,3,4]
In another study, involving 50 mg/kg/day of curcumin-loaded solid lipid nanocapsules (Cur-LNCs), cognition improved by 90%, acetylcholinesterase inhibition was 52%, and neurological scoring improved by 79% [58]
Studies indicate that metal ion imbalance leads to neurodegeneration and cell apoptosis [16], but curcumin is a potent chelator of redox-active metal ions [131]
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder which is characterized by confusion, memory loss, and cognitive decline [1,2,3,4]. Aβ species include soluble monomers, dimers, oligomers, and insoluble fibrils/aggregates and plaques [14,15]. The β-amyloid subspecies changes from a soluble protein to insoluble fibrils and senile plaques. The oxidation of proteins, lipids, and DNA by increased amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) damages neurons and leads to neuronal death [28,29,30,31]. AD treatments include acetylcholine esterase inhibitors (donepezil, tacrine, rivastigmine, and galantamine) and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist memantine. These drugs only provide symptomatic relief [9,37]. The keywords used were as follows: Alzheimer’s disease, brain, drug delivery, curcumin, turmeric, in vivo and animal studies.
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