Do polyphenols prevent dementia?
II. Introduction:
As the elderly population continues to grow, dementia is becoming more prevalent around the world today.1-3 According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, the number of dementia cases is expected to increase from 47 million in 2015 to 135 million by 2050.1 Currently, there is no cure or effective therapies available for dementia. However, vast scientific literature provides significant evidence that addressing modifiable risk factors, especially diet, may prevent or delay the progression of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.3 In recent years, polyphenols have elicited controversy over being a potential therapeutic agent for dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. …show more content…
(G,I, H) Additionally, there are many challenges for research on polyphenols in neurodegenerative diseases. For example, most of the knowledge regarding the neuroprotective effects of polyphenols has been derived from animal (mostly rodent) studies. (I,E) Therefore, the actual effect of polyphenols in humans is not fully understood.(I) In the few human studies conducted, the number of participants were too small to develop a realistic conclusion. (G,J) Additionally, the exact dosage of polyphenols required to exert protective effects in humans has not been established. (J) The main obstacle preventing the clinical application of polyphenols is their low bioavailability and rapid …show more content…
Opinions:
A review from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) indicates that the bioavailability of polyphenols (curcumin, resveratrol, and tea polyphenols) in vivo needs to be improved before it can be considered an effective preventive or therapeutic treatment for dementia. However, once the bioavailability has improved via novel methods, they believe the clinical application of polyphenols against neurodegenerative diseases can be established. (M) Personally, I agree that once further research can prove the neuroprotective effects of these polyphenols in humans, they should be implemented as an effective preventive method for