Georges El Hasbani, Ali Jawad and Imad Uthman* Pages 2917 - 2924 ( 8 )
The history of colchicine dates to ancient Egyptians when it was used for alleviation of swelling and pain. Although its popularity varied throughout the years, colchicine has been a mainstay for the treatment of several diseases, mainly rheumatic and cardiac ones. The mechanism of action of the drug involves several intracellular and extracellular targets, although interaction with tubulin is the most described. Based on several clinical trials and meta-analyses, colchicine is safely recommended as a monotherapy or as an add-on for the treatment and prevention of recurrent pericarditis, post-pericardiotomy syndrome, gout, pseudogout, familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), and Behçet’s disease (BD). Notably, drug safety has been noted during pregnancy and lactation. Besides its major indications, colchicine has shown efficacy and safety in the treatment of various conditions. Because the indications for using colchicine in the prevention of certain conditions such as acute coronary syndrome, stroke, and hepatic cirrhosis and treatment of others such as pneumonia and psoriasis are still debatable, further research works are needed.
Drug history, pharmacology, efficacy, safety, guidelines, colchicine.
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Department of Rheumatology, The Royal London Hospital, Bancroft Road, London E1 4DG, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut