Most people reading this forum have heard of the research being done by Dr. Chawnshang Chang on the use of ASC-J9 as a possible treatment for KD. Currently ASC-J9 is not available to the public and hasn't been proven safe and effective for KD. However, there is a related substance called curcumin (pronounced ker-KYOO-min) that is available in some better-stocked health food and herbalist stores.

Both curcumin and ASC-J9 are produced from the turmeric plant. The root of the turmeric plant is dried and ground up, giving the spice turmeric, which is used in certain Indian foods such as curries. Curcumin is then extracted from the turmeric. ASC-J9 is a modified form of curcumin. For more info on curcumin, you may read
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curcumin

Curcumin is used in traditional Indian medicine (called ayurveda) for a variety of ailments. What's really interesting, however, is that curcumin has been proven to have an effect on the androgen receptors in the prostate gland. (For example, in this article: www.charakinternational.com/pdfs/article5.pdf )

The words "androgen receptor" in the previous sentence are very significant, because the androgen receptor in motor neuron cells is an important factor in KD.

All this leads to the question, should KD patients consider purchasing curcumin at their local health food store and taking it until ASC-J9 is proven safe and effective? Nobody knows. Curcumin hasn't been proven effective for KD, and it is a powerful anti-oxidant that hasn't been proven safe in large doses. Certainly you should ask your doctor before taking any supplement including curcumin. On the other hand, turmeric is widely used in Indian cooking, and its extract curcumin is used in traditional Indian medicine, so you may want to consider those facts when reading about it.

If you are interested in curcumin but can't find it at your local store, check this page:
http://www.amazon.com/Now-Food...id=1249447534&sr=8-2

or just do an Internet search on "curcumin".

Please post any feedback, as I am very curious if anyone else finds curcumin interesting, or has tried using it. Thanks.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dan,

Hi Dan:

I attempted to take Circuminoids tablets about a year and a half ago. They were 1000 mg per tablet and to be honest, all I got was really bad stomach cramps.
I've been thinking of resuming taking them again at a lower starting dosage. I'm looking at the bottle right now and the recommended dietary serving is 1 daily or more as directed by a health professional.
Can't remember the reason why, but I think I started with 3. If I start again, I'll begin with only 1 and perhaps increase it as time goes by and or how well my stomach handles it.
BTW... Other than the above side effects, I didn't experience anything positive, but I only did it for a few days.

Ioshimo, taking 3000 milligrams at one time sounds like a lot. The brand of curcumin that I purchased comes in 500 milligram capsules, and the label recommends taking from 1 to 3 daily with meals. I am taking 1 per day.

Even taking 3 per day would be just 1500 milligrams, and taking them after meals on a full stomach would probably lessen the impact on the stomach lining.

Hi Dan:
I started taking 1 tablet after dinner yesterday. I plan on continuing this dosage for maybe a week and then increase it to 2 and see if I feel any difference.
I'll try to keep you posted.

I decided to send an email to Dr. Chang and ask him whether there is any point in taking curcumin until ASC-J9 becomes available. Knowing that he is busy, I didn't really expect him to answer, but he did! Here's the reply:

"Curcumin when tested in vitro (on tissue culture cells), has only 1/10 or less of activity in comparison to ASC-J9; furthermore, it is well known that curcumin when entering the body circulation (in vivo) loses activity so quickly (through metabolism), it never reaches a level that exerts any activity. So, to consume lots of curcumin does not provide help for KD for health purposes."

At first glance, this answer is pretty discouraging. However, after pondering it, I realized he didn't say curcumin is totally ineffective, he just said it is 1/10 as effective as ASC-J9 (or less). So I am going to continue taking curcumin anyway. My reasons are:

1. Even if curcumin is only one tenth as effective as ASC-J9, that's still better than nothing, and

2. Some studies, particularly this one and this one have shown that taking a small amount of black pepper with curcumin enhances the absorption. So I'm going to try that.

Hello Dan
I have began using curcumin also for about 3 months 2 each 900mg tablets. I do not feel a difference. Maybe i need to increase dose..Bottle says normal dose is 1 or 2 tablets a day.