Is it Autumn for colchicine and osteoarthritis?

Colchicine is an ancient drug, derived from plants of the Colchicum variety (or Autumn Crocus). Mentioned in the Ancient Egyptian Ebers papyrus, colchicine was purified by the 18th century and has been in regular use by physicians ever since; it was finally licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2009 for the prophylaxis and treatment of gout. 1 Dasgeb B Kornreich D McGuinn K Okon L Brownell I Sackett DL Colchicine: an ancient drug with novel applications. Br J Dermatol. 2018; 178: 350-356 Crossref PubMed Scopus (108) Google Scholar Low doses of colchicine (0·5 mg two to four times a day) are used for the short-term treatment of acute gouty flares, particularly when non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are contraindicated. 2 Dalbeth N Lauterio TJ Wolfe HR Mechanism of action of colchicine in the treatment of gout. Clin Ther. 2014; 36: 1465-1479 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (231) Google Scholar Additional uses in calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease, Behçet's disease, and familial Mediterranean fever, as well as in coronary artery disease and some skin diseases make colchicine very familiar to the rheumatologist. 1 Dasgeb B Kornreich D McGuinn K Okon L Brownell I Sackett DL Colchicine: an ancient drug with novel applications. Br J Dermatol. 2018; 178: 350-356 Crossref PubMed Scopus (108) Google Scholar Colchicine has also been prescribed for osteoarthritis, although evidence to support its use for this indication is scarce. Colchicine twice a day for hand osteoarthritis (COLOR): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trialIn people with painful hand osteoarthritis, treatment with 0·5 mg of colchicine twice day for 12 weeks did not effectively relieve pain, and treatment with colchicine was associated with more adverse events. Full-Text PDF