Current aspects of colchicine therapy - Classical indications and new therapeutic uses

Colchicine has been traditionally used for the treatment of gout. At presen t there is no generally accepted alternative to colchicine for the treatmen t of acute attacks or for the prevention of further attacks. The complex ac tions of this substance, which are mainly attributable to its stabilising a ction on the cytoskeleton and cell membranes, and its special pattern of di stribution form the basis for the results presented here regarding the prop hylactic or therapeutic actions of colchicine in a whole range of other dis eases. This is all the more significant in that in several instances it con cerns diseases that have so far been unsatisfactorily controlled by other t reatments. Because of its astonishing absence of side effects, some authors consider that low dose colchicine may be considered as an alternative to p revious therapies or even a means of first choice. It is therefor incorrect to think that medical research has shown little interest in this long-know n potential and has not sought to confirm promising options by means of con trolled studies. Fibrotic and inflammatory systemic diseases and those in w hich leucocytic chemotaxis play a role seem to be particularly predestined for this.