Curcumin no better than placebo for postoperative Crohn’s recurrence
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Oral curcumin was no more effective than placebo for preventing Crohn’s disease recurrence among patients who underwent surgery for Crohn’s, according to study results.
Previous research has shown that curcumin may have some anti-inflammatory properties. Gilles Bommelaer, of Université Clermont Auvergne in France, and colleagues sought to determine its efficacy for the prevention of postoperative Crohn’s recurrence.
“In vivo studies have also demonstrated the ability of curcumin to prevent and improve murine experimental colitis,” they wrote. “Recently, a randomized controlled trial reported that oral curcumin was more effective than placebo to induce clinical and endoscopic remission in patients with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis who failed mesalamine therapy.”
Researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial comprising 62 patients undergoing bowel resection. Patients received azathioprine and then either oral curcumin (3 g per dayn = 31) or placebo (n = 31) for 6 months.
The primary endpoint of the study was postoperative recurrence of CD (Rutgeerts index score i2). Investigators also assessed CD activity index, results from lab tests and quality of life.
After 6 months of treatment, 18 patients who received curcumin experienced postoperative recurrence (58%) compared with 21 patients who received placebo (68%). Additionally, a higher proportion of patients who received curcumin experienced severe recurrence compared with placebo (55% vs. 26P = .034).
The curcumin group also had a higher proportion of patients who experienced clinical recurrence of CD (45% vs. 30%) and more patients who experience a severe adverse event (16% vs. 6%).
“In this randomized placebo-controlled trial we did not observe any efficacy of oral curcumin therapy to prevent endoscopic postoperative recurrence in patients with CD receiving concomitant thiopurines therapy,” Bommelaer and colleagues wrote. “Accordingly, we cannot recommend the use of oral curcumin therapy in patients with CD in this situation.”
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