California licensed naturopathic doctor Kim Kelly gave an intravenous injection of a turmeric solution to Jade Erick, 30, that resulted in her death, the San Diego Medical Examiner confirmed. Erick was being treated for eczema, a benign skin condition.
The turmeric solution was probably a preparation of curcumin, a constituent found in the plant’s roots that is widely believed by “natural health” proponents to have exceptional healing properties.
But he is wrong. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), curcumin for any medical condition is not supported by strong evidence. This is notable considering over $150 million in federal funds since 1997 have been spent studying curcumin, and the NCCIH is generally sympathetic to low-quality evidence supporting alternative medicine.
Erick’s death raises questions about the ability of the naturopathic profession to educate and train its graduates to evaluate medical research and practice evidence-based medicine.
After Erick’s death was publicized but before the medical examiner’s report was released, naturopathic doctor Paul Anderson, who calls himself the pioneer of IV curcumin in North America, circulated a statement about the incident that was “designed to clarify misconceptions being perpetuated in the media.” Anderson is well-known among naturopathic doctors for his prolific use of intravenous therapies and training courses offered at several of the “accredited naturopathic programs,” including Bastyr University.
Anderson claimed that Erick died from an anaphylactic reaction. But according to the medical examiner’s report, Erick suffered from “severe anoxic brain injury secondary to cardiopulmonary arrest, most likely due to turmeric infusion.” The report does not cite an allergic reaction as the cause of death. Erick’s heart and breathing stopped.
Anderson firmly states that Erick’s death was “not related to the dose or toxicity of the curcumin.” But he must not be aware that curcumin and its metabolic byproducts are related to cardiotoxicity as they inhibit certain potassium channels in cardiac tissue, which can stop the heart.
Anderson then appears to have been privy to insider information. He states that the substance Erick received “was a sterile intravenous drug (curcumin) from an FDA registered source and FDA compliant pharmacy” that passed quality assurance tests. It turns out, Anderson works as a consultant for Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, a compounding pharmacy that makes an injectable product named Curcumin Emulsion MDV.
In a short, self-published monograph that describes how to dose intravenous curcumin and its therapeutic rationale, Paul Anderson claims to have given over 5,000 treatments in his career and cites this achievement as a testament to its safety. As far as I can tell, none of these treatments were performed within the confines of a registered clinical trial. Anderson goes on to twist together a plethora of research using curcumin in mice and various cell lines to justify his practice.
I don’t want to overwhelm you with lots of science and big word [sic] such as cytochrome P450. But summarizing how IV curcumin and its effects on cancer is curcumin increases: glutathione synthesis (major antioxidant), induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis (directly killing cancer cells), and inhibition of tumor invasion and angiogenesis (decrease blood supply to cancer cells). Hopefully this gives you enough information to believe in curcumin and its effects on cancer.
Dr. Michael Walters, Ph.D., the final author on the curcumin review paper and a professor in medicinal chemistry at University of Minnesota, told me in an email that he cautions patients to "avoid practitioners who make claims that sound too good to be true."
Naturopathic doctors in California are likely to face serious opposition this year as they lobby to extend their charter to be licensed as medical practitioners. The Naturopathic Doctor’s Act is set to expire on January 1, 2018, but there is a new bill in the California Senate, SB 796, introduced by Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) that would extend naturopathic licensure to 2022. If SB 796 fails, no new licenses will be administered, and scope of practice for naturopathic doctors could be greatly reduced for the sake patient safety.