The Uses and Benefits of Colchicine

Colchicine is a prescription drug used primarily for treating the symptoms and flare-ups associated with gout.  It is a natural substance extracted from a European plant called autumn crocus or meadow saffron. 

Colchicine has been used to relieve rheumatic pain, such as the pain of gout, for centuries.  It was thought that just touching the area affected by gout with the saffron plant could relieve gout’s symptoms, although this idea is now considered an exaggeration.  Regardless, colchicine has been associated historically with the treatment of gout arthritis.  It is also used for treatment of Mediterranean fever, Behcet’s disease, pericarditis and back pain, and is being researched as a chemotherapeutic treatment for cancer.          

Colchicine is an anti-inflammatory medication.  Gout is caused by an excess of uric acid in the blood.  This makes uric acid crystals form in the liquid of the joints.  Colchicine brings relief by preventing the formation of uric acid crystals in the joints.  It’s the crystals that cause the swelling, redness and pain of gout attacks.  The crystals can cause not only pain but damage to the joints and if allowed to persist, can lead to osteoarthritis and other problems.

Colchicine is a beta tubulin interactor that affects the process of mitosis.  It binds to the tubulin, which is essential to mitosis, and inhibits the process.   Since the fastest growing cells are the cancerous cells, colchicine is considered a chemotherapeutic treatment for cancer.
Colchicine is also used to treat cirrhosis and primary biliary cirrhosis.

When taking colchicine, it is important to follow the dosage directions.  If you miss a dose, wait until it is time for the next dose.  Colchicine provides fast relief for the pain and disability associated with gout’s symptoms and flare-ups.  In most gout sufferers who take the drug, relief comes in twenty-four hours.