Prior treatment with salazopyrine had not improved the situation, and treatment with antibiotics had only a temporary effect. cells, common variable immunodeficiency, curcumin, information society Contents Introduction Turmeric toxicity in a mildly immunocompromised patient: a case study Curcumin and the immune system The role of dendritic cells in CVID Curcumin and Rabbit Polyclonal to PFKFB1/4 dendritic cells Dendritic GKA50 cells in patients with MGUS Curcumin and the general public 1.?Introduction Curcumin, the major yellow pigment extracted from turmeric, has, over the last few years, been (re)discovered by modern science as a material with great promise as a therapeutic agent. It is currently used in human clinical trials for a variety of serious conditions, including multiple myeloma, pancreatic cancer, myelodysplastic syndromes, colon cancer, psoriasis and Alzheimers disease (1). More recently, Golombick and Diamond (2) and Golombick (3) reported the results of pilot studies which indicated that curcumin, in some patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), decreases the paraprotein load and the urinary N-telopeptide of type 1 collagen bone turnover marker. MGUS indicates the presence of a monoclonal (M-) protein in individuals without evidence of multiple myeloma, Waldenstr?ms macroglobulinemia, primary amyloidosis, or related disorders (4). The results with curcumin are promising, since an increasing paraprotein concentration is known to be a risk factor for the malignant progression of the above-mentioned GKA50 diseases in these patients (5). The incidence of MGUS increases with age. The prevalence gradually increases from 1.7% in individuals between 50 and 59 years to 6.6% in individuals above 80 years of age (6). The average risk for malignant progression in an individual with MGUS is usually approximately 1.5% per year (7). MGUS is usually therefore a serious condition, as it leads to an increased risk of mortality, not only due to malignant transformation, but also due to coexisting clinical conditions (8). Nevertheless, many patients with MGUS never present symptoms and eventually succumb to unrelated causes. As a consequence, the medical profession has been very circumspect with treatment in MGUS. To date, only regular observation (watchful waiting) with no treatment is recommended for these patients. This is based on the fear that treatment with, for example, alkylating brokers may induce secondary leukaemia. Curcumin is believed not to pose this risk for various reasons, as outlined below. Turmeric is usually widely consumed in Southeast Asia, and its use as a dietary spice and pigment is usually slowly growing worldwide. In India, in particular, it has also been used for centuries as GKA50 a traditional medicinal product. Turmeric powder is usually easily available as a food component in Asia, but also in the GKA50 Americas and Europe. Since it has been consumed for such a long time, the product is considered safe. Average intake in the adult Indian population is estimated at 2 g/day (made up of up GKA50 to 200 mg curcumin). Phase I clinical trials indicate that even doses of up to 8 g/day of extracted curcumin (diferuloylmethane) provoke only minimal toxicity in healthy volunteers (9,10). As a consequence, curcumin is believed not to be a risk factor for the induction of secondary leukaemia. In a commentary around the above-mentioned study by Golombick (3), Rajkumar emphasized the crucial importance of developing new methods to prevent the malignant progression of MGUS (11). As mentioned, MGUS.