The Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury

Current treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI) is supportive at best; despite great efforts, the lack of better treatment solutions looms large on neurological science and medicine. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, a spice known for its medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties, has bee...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Raghavendra Sanivarapu, Vijayalakshmi Vallabhaneni, Vivek Verma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Neurology Research International
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9468193
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832551749291868160
author Raghavendra Sanivarapu
Vijayalakshmi Vallabhaneni
Vivek Verma
author_facet Raghavendra Sanivarapu
Vijayalakshmi Vallabhaneni
Vivek Verma
author_sort Raghavendra Sanivarapu
collection DOAJ
description Current treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI) is supportive at best; despite great efforts, the lack of better treatment solutions looms large on neurological science and medicine. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, a spice known for its medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties, has been validated to harbor immense effects for a multitude of inflammatory-based diseases. However, to date there has not been a review on curcumin’s effects on SCI. Herein, we systematically review all known data on this topic and juxtapose results of curcumin with standard therapies such as corticosteroids. Because all studies that compare the two show superior results for curcumin over corticosteroids, it could be true that curcumin better acts at the inflammatory source of SCI-mediated neurological injury, although this question remains unanswered in patients. Because curcumin has shown improvements from current standards of care in other diseases with few true treatment options (e.g., osteoarthritis), there is immense potential for this compound in treating SCI. We critically and systematically summarize available data, discuss clinical implications, and propose further testing of this well-tolerated compound in both the preclinical and the clinical realms. Analyzing preclinical data from a clinical perspective, we hope to create awareness of the incredible potential that curcumin shows for SCI in a patient population that direly needs improvements on current therapy.
format Article
id doaj-art-921be765274c4c5caf39561e1e1288ce
institution Kabale University
issn 2090-1852
2090-1860
language English
publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Neurology Research International
spelling doaj-art-921be765274c4c5caf39561e1e1288ce2025-02-03T06:00:35ZengWileyNeurology Research International2090-18522090-18602016-01-01201610.1155/2016/94681939468193The Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Spinal Cord InjuryRaghavendra Sanivarapu0Vijayalakshmi Vallabhaneni1Vivek Verma2Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, NY 11554, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USADepartment of Radiation Oncology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USACurrent treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI) is supportive at best; despite great efforts, the lack of better treatment solutions looms large on neurological science and medicine. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, a spice known for its medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties, has been validated to harbor immense effects for a multitude of inflammatory-based diseases. However, to date there has not been a review on curcumin’s effects on SCI. Herein, we systematically review all known data on this topic and juxtapose results of curcumin with standard therapies such as corticosteroids. Because all studies that compare the two show superior results for curcumin over corticosteroids, it could be true that curcumin better acts at the inflammatory source of SCI-mediated neurological injury, although this question remains unanswered in patients. Because curcumin has shown improvements from current standards of care in other diseases with few true treatment options (e.g., osteoarthritis), there is immense potential for this compound in treating SCI. We critically and systematically summarize available data, discuss clinical implications, and propose further testing of this well-tolerated compound in both the preclinical and the clinical realms. Analyzing preclinical data from a clinical perspective, we hope to create awareness of the incredible potential that curcumin shows for SCI in a patient population that direly needs improvements on current therapy.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9468193
spellingShingle Raghavendra Sanivarapu
Vijayalakshmi Vallabhaneni
Vivek Verma
The Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
Neurology Research International
title The Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
title_full The Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
title_fullStr The Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
title_full_unstemmed The Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
title_short The Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
title_sort potential of curcumin in treatment of spinal cord injury
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9468193
work_keys_str_mv AT raghavendrasanivarapu thepotentialofcurcuminintreatmentofspinalcordinjury
AT vijayalakshmivallabhaneni thepotentialofcurcuminintreatmentofspinalcordinjury
AT vivekverma thepotentialofcurcuminintreatmentofspinalcordinjury
AT raghavendrasanivarapu potentialofcurcuminintreatmentofspinalcordinjury
AT vijayalakshmivallabhaneni potentialofcurcuminintreatmentofspinalcordinjury
AT vivekverma potentialofcurcuminintreatmentofspinalcordinjury