INVESTIGATION into colchicine’s potential as a treatment for knee osteoarthritis (OA) found no significant improvement in pain or function in a recent study. The findings, presented at ACR Convergence 2024, examined the impact of colchicine on patients with knee OA over a 90-day period.
Key Takeaways:
The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involved 120 participants with moderate knee OA. Researchers assessed pain levels using a visual analog scale (VAS) and monitored function through the Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Sonographic measurements of synovial effusion size were also analyzed. Despite its anti-inflammatory properties, colchicine did not show a significant benefit compared to the placebo across any of these metrics.
Patients treated with colchicine reported a mean reduction in pain of -1.1 on the VAS scale, compared to -1.5 in the placebo group (p=0.40). Similarly, KOOS sub-scores, including pain and quality of life, did not demonstrate meaningful differences. Effusion size reductions were negligible, suggesting no measurable impact on joint inflammation.
Clinical Implications:
These results challenge the potential of colchicine as a short-term treatment for knee OA. While colchicine is known to modulate inflammation, the study underscores the need for further investigation into dosing, duration, and larger sample sizes to assess any long-term effects. Researchers are now examining biochemical markers from the trial to explore whether colchicine may have subtle, non-clinical effects that could warrant further exploration.
Reference: Samuels J et al. CoLchicine for Treatment of OsteoArthritis of the Knee: Clinical Outcomes from a 90-day Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. Abstract 0790. ACR Convergence 2024, Washington DC, USA, November 16, 2024.
