Effect of Oral Curcumin on Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

<div><strong>Abstract</strong></div> <div> <p><strong>Background and Objective: </strong>Incomprehensive studies have examined the therapeutic and side effects of curcumin on the treatment of debilitating diseases, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). This study aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin on RA.<br><strong>Materials and Methods: </strong>This double-blind clinical trial was carried out on 64 RA patients with an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)-Disease Activity Score (DAS)-28>2.6. The patients were then randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. In addition to the routine treatment, the intervention group was treated with 80-mg/day capsules of curcumin (nano-micelles). Further, the patients were followed up for three months, and clinical-laboratory examinations were recorded in this study.<br><strong>Results:</strong> There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups regarding the trends of the disease activity indicators, including DAS-28, disability index, physician assessment, and the number of tender joints (<em>P</em>>0.05). Further, a significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of pain score changes and the number of swollen joints. Additionally, the curcumin-treated subjects obtained lower mean pain and fewer swollen joints, compared to those in the control group (<em>P</em><0.05).<br><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The present study revealed that curcumin had no significant therapeutic effects on reducing the activity of RA; however, no significant side effects were observed on the patients, and it also showed its analgesic effect well.</p> </div> <div><strong>Keywords: </strong><a href="https://journal.zums.ac.ir/search.php?sid=1&slc_lang=en&srchterm=Curcumin">Curcumin</a>, <a href="https://journal.zums.ac.ir/search.php?sid=1&slc_lang=en&srchterm=Disability">Disability</a>, <a href="https://journal.zums.ac.ir/search.php?sid=1&slc_lang=en&srchterm=ESR-DAS-28">ESR-DAS-28</a>, <a href="https://journal.zums.ac.ir/search.php?sid=1&slc_lang=en&srchterm=Rheumatoid+Arthritis">Rheumatoid Arthritis</a>, <a href="https://journal.zums.ac.ir/search.php?sid=1&slc_lang=en&srchterm=Clinical+Trial">Clinical Trial</a>, <a href="https://journal.zums.ac.ir/search.php?sid=1&slc_lang=en&srchterm=Anti-Inflammatory+Effects">Anti-Inflammatory Effects</a></div>