Curcumin aggravates CNS pathology in experimental systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract Complement activation and inflammation are key disease features of systemic lupus erythematosus. Curcumin is an anti-inflammatory agent that inhibits the complement cascade. Therefore, we hypothesized that curcumin will be protective in CNS lupus. To assess the effect of curcumin on CNS-lupus, MRL /lpr mice were used. Brain MRI showed that curcumin (30 mg/kg body wt. i.p. from 12–20 weeks) worsened regional brain atrophy. The volumes of the lateral and third ventricles are significantly increased (150%–213% and 107%–140%, without and with treatment respectively compared to MRL+/+ controls). The hippocampus was reduced further (83%–81%) by curcumin treatment. In line with increased brain atrophy, there were edematous cells (41% increase in cell size in MRL /lpr compared to MRL+/+ mice. The cell size was further increased by 28% when treated with curcumin; p