Scientist Studying Herb As Alzheimer's Therapy

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PORTLAND, Ore. - A study of the potential therapeutic effects of the dietary supplement gotu kola is among seven research projects being funded this year by Oregon's Tax Check-Off Program for Alzheimer's Disease Research.


Amala Soumyanath, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, will use the $25,000 grant to continue her work on gotu kola, also known as Centella asiatica. Previous studies, in collaboration with Joseph Quinn, M.D., and Bruce Gold, Ph.D., at OHSU, have shown that gotu kola extracts reverse behavioral deficits in a mouse model for Alzheimer's disease and had protective effects on neuronal cells cultured in the laboratory. The title of her project is "Centella asiatica - a potential therapy for Alzheimer's disease."

"What we plan to do is to conduct in vitro tests using neuronal cells taken from animals, or cultured human neuronal cells to look at ways gotu kola may have beneficial effects in the nervous system in protecting neurons," Soumyanath said. "We're looking at two things: identify the mechanisms by which gotu kola might work; and identify components within gotu kola that have these effects."

She said her ultimate aim is to "be able to carry out clinical trials in human beings. We want to see if gotu kola is of benefit in Alzheimer's patients to relieve or delay cognitive impairment." Herbal products can vary considerably in composition depending on the geographical origin, climatic factors and production method. Information from the current project will help researchers conduct well-designed trials for which the gotu kola preparations have been confirmed to contain the relevant active components.

The Oregon Alzheimer's Disease Research Small Grants Program, funded by the Tax Check-Off Program for Alzheimer's Disease Research, provides grants ranging from $21,100 to $25,000 each for research projects at Portland State University, the University of Oregon, the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center and OHSU. The grant period is from June 1, 2005, to May 31, 2006

From Healthy.net