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

NCT ID: NCT06359665

Last Updated: 2025-12-19

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION

Clinical Phase

PHASE1

Total Enrollment

100 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-02-01

Study Completion Date

2026-02-28

Brief Summary

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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.

Detailed Description

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This randomized controlled trial of oral curcumin for the treatment of pain of CMC arthritis will investigate the therapeutic potential of curcumin as an oral treatment for pain of CMC arthritis. Rationale: Curcumin 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 CMC arthritis. Hypothesis: Curcumin is more effective than placebo for relieving pain and improving patient-reported outcomes for CMC arthritis Study Design: The study design will be a double-blind, randomized controlled trial with crossover. Treatment will be blinded to the subjects and investigators. Patients will be randomly assigned 4 weeks of the Curcumin or control and then crossover to the other condition for 4 additional weeks. Patients will take the oral curcumin or control placebo capsule twice daily. Subjects will be advised to observe adverse effects.

The study design will be a double-blind randomized control trial with crossover. Treatment will be blinded to the subjects and investigators. Patients will be randomly assigned 4 weeks of the case (curcumin) or control capsules and then crossover to the other condition for 4 more weeks with a 2-week washout interval between. Patients will take one oral capsule by mouth twice daily. The subjects will be advised to observe for physiologic changes, skin changes, or other adverse effects. If mild to severe adverse events are noticed, the patient's will discontinue the use of the capsules, and appropriate care and observation will be taken. Each condition will last for 4 weeks and then subjects will be contacted by the study coordinator to facilitate crossover into the other condition following a 2-week washout period. To capture any delayed-onset adverse events, subjects will attend a follow-up visit seven days following the last dose of the curcumin capsule.

Conditions

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Arthritis of Carpometacarpal Joint of Left Thumb Arthritis of Carpometacarpal Joint of Right Thumb

Keywords

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Thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis (CMC OA) Thumb carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis turmeric curcumin

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

The study design will be a double-blind, randomized controlled trial with crossover.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

QUADRUPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators Outcome Assessors
Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Study Groups

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Oral curcumin

Oral curcumin 500 mg capsules taken twice each day for 4 weeks.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Curcumin

Intervention Type DRUG

500 mg capsule twice daily

Placebo

Oral placebo capsules taken twice each day for 4 weeks.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo

Intervention Type DRUG

capsule twice daily

Interventions

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Curcumin

500 mg capsule twice daily

Intervention Type DRUG

Placebo

capsule twice daily

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

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Nature Made, PharmaVite LLC Turmeric

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form.
2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study.
3. Male or female, aged 18 years or older.
4. For females, must be willing to use an approved form of birth control during this study. Acceptable forms of birth control:

* Norplant
* IUD (intrauterine device)
* Birth Control Patch
* Depo-Provera
* Sterilization

The following may be used if combined with other birth control methods:
* Condoms
* Diaphragm
* Jellies or foam
* Cervical cap
* Sponge
5. For males, must be willing to not father a baby for the duration of the study and for 90 days after the last dose of study drug, or donate to a sperm back during this time. Must be willing to use an approved form of birth control during this time. Acceptable forms of birth control:

* Condoms
* Sterilization
6. Daily visual analog pain greater than 5 and ≤ 9 out of 10.
7. Duration of pain for greater than 30 days.
8. Presence of radiographically confirmed diagnosis of thumb basal joint arthritis

Exclusion Criteria

1. Participant does not speak English.
2. Participant is blind.
3. Severe cardiac, pulmonary, liver, gastrointestinal and hematological disease (including coagulopathy), and /or renal disease.
4. Abnormal hematological, coagulation, and/or liver function test results.
5. Coumadin use at time of screening.
6. Use of any anticoagulant and antiplatelet medication.
7. History of mental illness.
8. Participant who is incarcerated.
9. History of drug or substance abuse.
10. Pre-existing curcumin or turmeric product usage within 3 months of the study period.
11. Participant has had a corticosteroid injection ≤ 60 days prior.
12. Participant has had prior surgery for osteoarthritis treatment
13. Participant who has fibromyalgia and post-operative pain.
14. Females who are pregnant, nursing or planning a pregnancy
15. Participants within 14 days of the study procedure taking prescription or non-prescription medication which are substrates of CYP3A4:

* Itraconazole,
* Ketoconazole,
* Azamulin,
* Troleandomycin,
* Verapamil,
* John's wart,
* Phenobarbital,
16. Participants within 14 days of the study procedure taking prescription or non-prescription medication which are substrates of CYP2C19:

* Nootkatone,
* Ticlopidine,
* Rifampin,
* Omeprazole),
17. Participants within 14 days of the study procedure taking prescription or non-prescription medication which are substrates of CYP2C8:

* Montelukast,
* Quercetin,
* Phenelzine,
* Rifampin,
* Clopidogrel ,
18. Participants within 14 days of the study procedure taking prescription or non-prescription medication which are substrates of CYP2C9:

* Sulfaphenazole,
* Tienilic acid,
* Carbamazepine,
* Apoflutamide ,
* Fluconazole,
* Celecoxib,
19. Participants within 14 days of the study procedure taking prescription or non-prescription medication which are substrates of CYP1A2:

* alpha-Naphthoflavone,
* Furafylline,
* Phenytoin,
* Rifampin,
* Ritonavir,
* smoking,
* Teriflunomide,
* Ciprofloxacin,
* oral contraceptives,
* Allopurinol
20. Participants within 14 days of the study procedure taking prescription or non-prescription medication which are substrates of CYP2B6 :

* Sertraline,
* Phencyclidine,
* Thiotepa,
* Ticlopidine,
* Carbamazepine,
* Efavirenz,
* Rifampin,
* Bupropion)
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Brent DeGeorge

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Brent DeGeorge

Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Brent DeGeorge, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Virginia Department of Plastic Surgery

Locations

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University of Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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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.

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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.

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PMID: 17075840 (View on PubMed)

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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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17900536 (View on PubMed)

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.

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PMID: 27533649 (View on PubMed)

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.

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PMID: 36044293 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 36014474 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35935936 (View on PubMed)

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.

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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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33511486 (View on PubMed)

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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24672232 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Other Identifiers

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HSR230544

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id