Colchicine in osteoarthritis
- Article
- 2023-05-30
Scientists hope that in the future osteoarthritis patients can be treated with a drug that was originally intended for gout. Research shows that treatment with colchicine reduces the chance of a hip or knee replacement. Moreover, this vegetable extract is also affordable.
At the moment, people with osteoarthritis, in which the cartilage of one or more joints is damaged, depend on painkillers or having the affected joint replaced.
Scientists from Radboudumc and the Sint Maartenskliniek think that the plant extract colchicine may play a role in this. This remedy has been used for the treatment of gout patients since the first century AD.
Colchicine has previously been used in a study by Radboudumc as a medicine against cardiovascular disease in which inflammation plays a role. This showed that it reduces the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 30 percent. Rheumatologist Calin Popa of the Sint Maartenskliniek subsequently suggested that this remedy may also help osteoarthritis patients.
This seems to be correct. "In the group treated with colchicine, the number of patients requiring a knee or hip replacement was more than 30 percent lower than in the placebo group," said Michelle Heijman, researcher at the Sint Maartenskliniek. "Since it is an old medicine, we know that it is safe. Moreover, the treatment is simple: a tablet prescribed by the doctor once a day."
Nevertheless, more research is needed to definitively demonstrate this and to offer the drug to patients. In the Netherlands there are about one and a half million people who suffer from osteoarthritis.
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