| 5 star (2) | 67% | |
| 1 star (1) | 33% |
Zark (Emerald City, The Land Of Oz) on 02/04/2014: 
Here is some research from Japan:
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3665200/
Effects of turmeric on Alzheimer's disease with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia
Ayu. 2012 Oct-Dec; 33(4): 499-504.
Abstract
We describe here three patients with the Alzheimer's Disease (AD) whose behavioral symptoms were improved remarkably as a result of the turmeric treatment, which is the traditional Indian medicine. Their cognitive decline and Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) were very severe. All three patients exhibited irritability, agitation, anxiety, and apathy, two patients suffer from urinary incontinence and wonderings. They were prescribed turmeric powder capsules and started recovering from these symptoms without any adverse reaction in the clinical symptom and laboratory data. After 12 weeks of the treatment, total score of the Neuro-Psychiatric Inventory-brief questionnaire decreased significantly in both acuity of symptoms and burden of caregivers. In one case, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was up five points, from 12/30 to 17/30. In the other two cases, no significant change was seen in the MMSE; however, they came to recognize their family within 1 year treatment. All cases have been taking turmeric for more than 1 year, re-exacerbation of BPSD was not seen. The present cases suggest a significant improvement of the behavioral symptoms in the AD with the turmeric treatment, leading to probable benefit of the use of turmeric in individuals with the AD with BPSD.
Kasturi (Mountain View, California, USA) on 07/04/2009: 
Warning
1) Majority of the doctors (not to mention the layman) in India are woefully unaware of Alzheimer's. Only in the last decade has awareness been introduced through campaigning.
2) Statistics in India about Alzheimer's is very skewed because of non-diagnosis and mis-diagnosis. Not surprising if even doctors are unaware of this ailment.
3) Longevity in India is around 60 years for men and 65 years for women. Put simply, they don't live long enough to get dementia or Alzheimer's.
4) In India, parents live with their sons as a rule. So, even the real Alzheimer cases are "kept under wraps" by the family and not really admitted to a nursing care facility. It would be tantamount to "abandoning" your parents or "exposing" their dementia to the world. Just not the Indian culture.
I am currently caring for my mother who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's after I brought her with me to the US. Prior to that, my father and relatives were complaining that she is acting crazy and is really difficult to get along with. But nobody even thought of it as a possible mental condition, they just attributed it to her "evil" nature. Sounds horrible, but that is the sad truth in India. Mental illness is often brushed off or ridiculed as if it is a personality trait. That is also why India is not very advanced in Psychiatry. Not because Indians don't magically have depression or other psychiatric issues. It is just that the society is not tuned in that well to these ailments.
Suzanne (Rotterdam, Netherlands) on 02/05/2009:
