Major benefit from an old drug

tranwell

I have been looking for an avenue to report a major benefit I have received inadvertently which I believe deserves a wider audience but it is difficult to know how. Having suffered from gout for several years, I finally agreed to move to daily Allopurinol an established treatment that prevents gout by lowering uric acid levels. A very old (>300 years) drug for treating gout, Colchicine, is routinely prescribed when starting Allopurinol as the latter can cause a gout flare up in the beginning.
I am 80 years old and in addition to gout have suffered increasing arthritis of the joints in hands and knees for nearly a decade. At a recent review I reported to my GP that I had experienced a remarkable improvement in my arthritic condition, with greater flexibility and total absence of pain. I asked " Could it be due to the Colchicine?" My GP reckoned it was down to the Allopurinol but said "we'll see when you cease the Colchicine".

Within 8 days of stopping Colchicine, I had a very painful arthritic attack in my right knee which prevented me walking. I immediately treated it with two days of NSAID (Naproxen)and resumed the Colchicine (one 0.5mg tablet daily) and within days and now three weeks later I am totally pain free and flexible again.

If you google Colchicine or look in any reference book, you will only find references to its use in gout. I googled Colchicine and osteo-arthritis and found that there has been some research in recent years into its use in OA. Small studies, but all positive about its benefit and safety (see references below). Now no pharmaceutical company will be interested in trialing an old inexpensive drug and no salesman will be promoting it to GPs so how will the word spread? Perhaps Arthritis Research might finance a UK trial?

https://www.mdedge.com/familypracticenews/article/80340/rheumatology/colchicine-old-drug-new-trick

https://www.chanrejournals.com/index.php/rheumatology/article/view/189/html

http://www.oarsijournal.com/article/S1063-4584(17)30347-3/abstract

[Deleted User]

Hi Tranwell Thank you for your data that you have shared and welcome to the forum,it is so good that it has helped your arthritis,it may not do the same for others but I will pass your results to Arthritiscare and it will be up to them to do anything about it. We are not allowed to advertise on this forum as it is a chat site only to talk about your arthritis and share information and encourage one another.
Please talk to others on the forums most popular being Living with Arthritis and Chit Chat
Enjoy and all the best Christine

dreamdaisy

Hurrah! Isn't it lovely when something works? I know of one member on here who has taken it but not many do, in the case of my auto-immune arthritis (psoriatic) only certain drugs are allowed. I recall my rheumatology nurse telling me that all medical drugs have their roots in naturally occurring substances, the scientists mix and tweak to gain optimum results but one size does certainly not fit all.

I know that gout is on the auto-immune spectrum, is your arthritis one of those or osteo? I have both so have to be careful with what I take. Anyway, I hope you keep feeling the benefits and wish you well. DD

tranwell

dreamdaisy wrote:

Hurrah! Isn't it lovely when something works? I know of one member on here who has taken it but not many do, in the case of my auto-immune arthritis (psoriatic) only certain drugs are allowed. I recall my rheumatology nurse telling me that all medical drugs have their roots in naturally occurring substances, the scientists mix and tweak to gain optimum results but one size does certainly not fit all.

I know that gout is on the auto-immune spectrum, is your arthritis one of those or osteo? I have both so have to be careful with what I take. Anyway, I hope you keep feeling the benefits and wish you well. DD

My OA is classic wear and tear as demonstrated on X Ray not auto immune related. However it seems that wear and tear results in inflammation (a natural body response to injury) and it is that which Colchicine is cooling down in my case leading to reduction in pain ans stiffness?

dreamdaisy

Gout is an inflammatory auto-immune thing but inflammation can also be present with OA. Thanks to the meds for my psoriatic arthritis my inflammatory levels are very low but my joints can still swell (especially my knees) due to OA when I've over-done things. Apparently its caused because the body is trying to protect the joint.

Colchicine is a medical treatment sometimes given to those who have trouble with NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) so it will reduce inflammation. This action is neither specific or targeted, it will affect the whole body. The best thing is it works for you and I hope that long continues. Good luck! DD