A Chinese prostate cancer researcher says that a compound in ginger and curry powder could bring a glimmer of hope to patients suffering from Kennedy's disease, a debilitating neurodegenerative condition that only affects men.
The compound, known as ASC-J9 and found in curcumin - the bright yellow spice in curry powder - dramatically slowed the progression of the disease in mice that carried the mutant human gene that causes the disease, Dr Yang Zhiming of Hangzhou-based Zhejiang University told Xinhua March 30.
The tests, conducted by Yang and a research team under Professor Chawnshang Chang at the University of Rochester Medical Center, involved 60 pairs of mice, each pair consisting of one treated and one untreated mouse. The tests proved that the mice treated were able to mate and produce offspring, while their untreated partners could not, he said.
While a great deal more research needs to be done to see if the compound could be developed into a drug to help Kennedy's disease sufferers, Dr Yang says it is a promising development in a field where progress has been slow.
Kennedy's disease, also known as spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, attacks one out of 40,000 people. Symptoms typically include difficulty in speaking and swallowing, and weakness in the arms and legs. Patients are often diagnosed in their 30s and 40s, and many end up wheelchair-bound.
Yang, 35, was the first author of the study, which appeared in the March edition of the journal Nature Medicine. He earned his doctorate under Professor Chawnshang Chang, a prostate cancer expert at the University of Rochester Medical Center. (Source: Xinhua, Shanghai Daily, Mar 31, 2007).