The Effect of Curcumin on the Recovery of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Background and Aim: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the critical causes of death in trauma patients. In this study, the effect of nanocurcumin on the outcome of severe TBI was investigated for the first time in humans. Methods and Materials/Patients: This randomized, double-blind, and paralleled controlled study included 128 patients aged from 18 to 70 years with severe brain trauma. Patients were randomly assigned to control group (standard care treatment+placebo) and intervention group (standard care treatment+oral nanocurcumin). Changes in the level of consciousness, cerebral edema, kidney function, liver enzymes, sodium and potassium electrolytes, and brain function were followed up and compared until 6 months after discharge. Results: The Mean±SD in the intervention (14.44±31.86 years) and control patients (14.86±33.34 years) had no significant difference (P=0.543). Both groups were similar in terms of gender (P=0.669). The average level of consciousness in the intervention group increased by about 3 units (P=0.004) and more than 2 units (P=0.002) at discharge compared with the control group. By comparing the optimal performance of patients in the first (P=0.389) trimester and second (P=0.309) trimester after discharge, no significant difference was observed between the intervention and control groups. The amount of brain edema caused by severe brain trauma on the seventh day of treatment in the intervention group was lower than that in the control group (P=0.038). Conclusion: Administrating oral nanocurcumin supplement in patients with severe brain trauma along with their routine treatment is effective in improving brain edema and their level of consciousness without causing coagulation, and liver and kidney complications. These findings are not only statistically significant but also clinically vital.