title: Neurological recovery and antioxidant effects of curcumin for spinal cord injury in the rat: a network meta-analysis and systematic review.
abstract: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition affecting young, healthy individuals worldwide. Existing agents have inadequate therapeutic efficacy, and some are associated with side effects. Our objective is to summarize and critically assess the neurological recovery and antioxidant effects of curcumin for treatment of SCI in rat models. PubMed, Embase, and Chinese databases were searched from their inception date to February 2014. Two reviewers independently selected animal studies that evaluated neurological recovery and antioxidant effects of curcumin, compared to placebo, in rats with SCI, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality. A pair-wise analysis and a network meta-analysis were performed. Eight studies with adequate randomization were selected and included in the systematic review. Two studies had a higher methodological quality. Overall, curcumin appears to significantly improve neurological function, as assessed using the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale (four studies, n=132; pooled mean difference [MD]=3.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.40-4.45; p=0.04), in a random-effects model and decrease malondialdehyde (MDA) using a fixed-effects model (four studies, n=56; pooled MD=-1.00; 95% CI=-1.59 to -0.42; p=0.00008). Effect size, assessed using the BBB scale, increased gradually with increasing curcumin dosage. The difference between low- and high-dose curcumin using the BBB scale was statistically significant. Neurological recovery and antioxidant effects of curcumin were observed in rats with SCI despite poor study methodological quality.
authors.affiliation: 1 Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine , Shanghai, China .
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yue-li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Rong-liang
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Dun
authors.forename: Yong-jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xue-jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D051381:Rats; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000187:drug effects*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D003474:Curcumin
keywords: curcumin; network meta-analysis; spinal cord injury; systematic review