Recovery from spinal cord injury using naturally occurring antiinflammatory compound curcumin: laboratory investigation.

Abstract

OBJECT:

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating disease. Primary SCI results from direct injury to the spinal cord, whereas secondary injury is a side effect from subsequent edema and ischemia followed by activation of proinflammatory cytokines. These cytokines activate the prosurvival molecule nuclear factor-κB and generate obstacles in spinal cord reinnervation due to gliosis. Curcumin longa is an active compound found in turmeric, which acts as an antiinflammatory agent primarily by inhibiting nuclear factor-κB. Here, the authors study the effect of curcumin on SCI recovery.

METHODS:

Fourteen female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent T9-10 laminectomy and spinal cord contusion using a weight-drop apparatus. Within 30 minutes after contusion and weekly thereafter, curcumin (60 mg/kg/ml body weight in dimethyl sulfoxide) or dimethyl sulfoxide (1 ml/kg body weight) was administered via percutaneous epidural injection at the injury site. Spinal cord injury recovery was assessed weekly by scoring hindlimb motor function. Animals were killed 6 weeks postcontusion for histopathological analysis of spinal cords and soleus muscle weight evaluation.

RESULTS:

Curcumin-treated rats had improved motor function compared with controls starting from Week 1. Body weight gain significantly improved, correlating with improved Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan scores. Soleus muscle weight was greater in curcumin-treated rats than controls. Histopathological analysis validated these results with increased neural element mass with less gliosis at the contusion site in curcumin-treated rats than controls.

CONCLUSIONS:

Epidural administration of curcumin resulted in improved recovery from SCI. This occurred with no adverse effects noted in experimental animals. Therefore, curcumin treatment may translate into a novel therapy for humans with SCI.

• Authors: D Ryan Ormond, Hong Peng, Richard Zeman, Kaushik Das, Raj Murali, Meena Jhanwar-Uniyal
• Journal: Journal of neurosurgery. Spine (J Neurosurg Spine) Vol. 16 Issue 5 Pg. 497-503 (May 2012) ISSN: 1547-5646 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 22324804 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
• Curcumin

Topics

• Animals
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal (therapeutic use)
• Contusions
• Curcumin (therapeutic use)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Female
• Hindlimb
• Laminectomy
• Motor Activity (physiology)
• Rats
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Recovery of Function (physiology)
• Spinal Cord Injuries (drug therapy, etiology, physiopathology)
• Thoracic Vertebrae