Since our review was published, a small clinical trial of a water-soluble form of curcumin called Theracurmin was conducted (Muscle & Nerve 2022;66:S52). This showed no effect on disease progression in 50 people with ALS who took it for 6 months. We thus change our “Trials” grade from C to F.
Key Information
Oral curcumin is safe, inexpensive, and has at least four potential mechanisms by which it might theoretically be useful in treating PALS. Flawed preclinical studies showed benefits of a curcumin chemical analog in a cell model of ALS, three PALS experienced validated motor improvements on regimens including curcumin (although there are several alternative explanations for these improvements) and there is one small pilot trial showing some benefit of curcumin in PALS. Based on the evidence presented in this review, some of us are planning a trial of Theracurmin at 90 mg twice daily in PALS.
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