Clinical Evidence

Safety and efficacy of nanocurcumin as add-on therapy to riluzole in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A pilot randomized clinical trial
Neurotherapeutics. 2018; 15 (2): 430-438
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a highly progressive and lethal neurodegenerative disorder. Currently, it is considered as incurable and the only approved drug, Riluzole, has a mild effect on survival time. Although etiology is unknown, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and neuro-inflammation may be involved. Curcumin is one of the safe and potent components for neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, supplementation of curcumin may improve the motor function and survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Objective:

To assess the safety and efficacy of nanocurcumin in adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Methods:

This was a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study in subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. A total of 54 subjects were randomly allocated to receive either nanocurcumin (80 mg/daily) or placebo for 4 weeks.

Results:
  • After 12 months follow-up, events were occurred in one subject (3.7%) in the curcumin group and six subjects (22.2%) in the placebo group. Curcumin supplementation showed better overall survival compared to placebo (p=0.036). No serious adverse events or treatment related deaths were detected
Conclusion

Curcumin supplementation was found to be safe and might improve the probability of survival as an adjuvant in patients with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.