Oral Curcumin for the Treatment of Pain of Thumb Base Joint (CMC) Arthritis

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the use of turmeric (Curcumin) as a treatment for pain of thumb-joint arthritis. Turmeric is commonly being used as an over-the-counter treatment for musculoskeletal pain. Clinical trials have demonstrated a pain-relief benefit for knee osteoarthritis, however no clinical trial has been performed to establish efficacy of curcumin in humans for thumb-joint arthritis. The main question\[s\] it aims to answer are: * Is Turmeric more effective than placebo at relieving pain for thumb-joint arthritis? A placebo is a look-alike substance that contains no active drug. * Is Turmeric more effective than placebo at improving patient-reported outcomes for CMC arthritis? * Is Turmeric safe for participants with thumb-joint arthritis? Participants will: * take 4 weeks of daily Turmeric capsules, * take 4 weeks of daily placebo capsules * answer daily surveys about how they are feeling and functioning.

Timeline

Start

2025-02-01

Primary completion

2026-02

Completion

2026-02

Publications

• Background Wolf JM, Atroshi I, Zhou C, Karlsson J, Englund M. Sick Leave After Surgery for Thumb Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis: A Population-Based Study. J Hand Surg Am. 2018 May;43(5):439-447. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2017.11.019. Epub 2018 Feb 7.
• Background Brat GA, Agniel D, Beam A, Yorkgitis B, Bicket M, Homer M, Fox KP, Knecht DB, McMahill-Walraven CN, Palmer N, Kohane I. Postsurgical prescriptions for opioid naive patients and association with overdose and misuse: retrospective cohort study. BMJ. 2018 Jan 17;360:j5790. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j5790.
• Background Funk JL, Frye JB, Oyarzo JN, Kuscuoglu N, Wilson J, McCaffrey G, Stafford G, Chen G, Lantz RC, Jolad SD, Solyom AM, Kiela PR, Timmermann BN. Efficacy and mechanism of action of turmeric supplements in the treatment of experimental arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2006 Nov;54(11):3452-64. doi: 10.1002/art.22180.
• Background Lakhan SE, Ford CT, Tepper D. Zingiberaceae extracts for pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutr J. 2015 May 14;14:50. doi: 10.1186/s12937-015-0038-8.
• Background Goel A, Kunnumakkara AB, Aggarwal BB. Curcumin as "Curecumin": from kitchen to clinic. Biochem Pharmacol. 2008 Feb 15;75(4):787-809. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2007.08.016. Epub 2007 Aug 19.
• Background Daily JW, Yang M, Park S. Efficacy of Turmeric Extracts and Curcumin for Alleviating the Symptoms of Joint Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. J Med Food. 2016 Aug;19(8):717-29. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2016.3705.
• Background Travica N, Teasdale S, Marx W. Nutraceuticals in mood disorders: current knowledge and future directions. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2023 Jan 1;36(1):54-59. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000826. Epub 2022 Aug 29.
• Background Hafez Ghoran S, Calcaterra A, Abbasi M, Taktaz F, Nieselt K, Babaei E. Curcumin-Based Nanoformulations: A Promising Adjuvant towards Cancer Treatment. Molecules. 2022 Aug 16;27(16):5236. doi: 10.3390/molecules27165236.
• Background Zeng L, Yang T, Yang K, Yu G, Li J, Xiang W, Chen H. Efficacy and Safety of Curcumin and Curcuma longa Extract in the Treatment of Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial. Front Immunol. 2022 Jul 22;13:891822. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.891822. eCollection 2022.
• Background Bannuru RR, Osani MC, Al-Eid F, Wang C. Efficacy of curcumin and Boswellia for knee osteoarthritis: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2018 Dec;48(3):416-429. doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2018.03.001. Epub 2018 Mar 10.
• Background Hsiao AF, Lien YC, Tzeng IS, Liu CT, Chou SH, Horng YS. The efficacy of high- and low-dose curcumin in knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2021 Dec;63:102775. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2021.102775. Epub 2021 Sep 16.
• Background Wang Z, Singh A, Jones G, Winzenberg T, Ding C, Chopra A, Das S, Danda D, Laslett L, Antony B. Efficacy and Safety of Turmeric Extracts for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2021 Jan 28;23(2):11. doi: 10.1007/s11926-020-00975-8.
• Background Kuptniratsaikul V, Dajpratham P, Taechaarpornkul W, Buntragulpoontawee M, Lukkanapichonchut P, Chootip C, Saengsuwan J, Tantayakom K, Laongpech S. Efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts compared with ibuprofen in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a multicenter study. Clin Interv Aging. 2014 Mar 20;9:451-8. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S58535. eCollection 2014.

Drugs

Indications