ReviewSeminars in arthritis and rheumatism2015
Colchicine--Update on mechanisms of action and therapeutic uses.
Review in Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 5 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 453 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Outcomes of Low-dose Colchicine in Patients With Myocardial Infarction: A Randomized Controlled Trial
A Biomarker Study Assessing the Effects of Colchicine on Inflammation and Extra-Cellular Matrix Turnover in Patients With Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction.
Post-Ablation Pericarditis Reduction Study
Colchicine in Acutely Decompensated Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: a Pilot Study
Post-Ablation Pericarditis Reduction Study
Who cites it
453 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 916 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of colchicine in patients with acute coronary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of colchicine post myocardial infarction: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis of randomized clinical trials.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Long-term trials of colchicine for secondary prevention of vascular events: a meta-analysis.European heart journal · 2025Pooled it
- Colchicine for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Colchicine combination therapy increases treatment tolerance in patients with arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- A meta-analysis evaluating efficacy and safety of colchicine for prevention of major cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease.Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society · 2023Pooled it
- Oxygen Saturation in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients and Its Relation to Colchicine Treatment: A Retrospective Cohort Study with an Updated Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of colchicine for the treatment of osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention trials.Clinical rheumatology · 2023Pooled it
- Chitosan-Based Scaffolds for the Treatment of Myocardial Infarction: A Systematic Review.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Colchicine for the Treatment of Long COVID: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA internal medicine · 2025Trial
- Colchicine and Longitudinal Dynamics of Clonal Hematopoiesis: An Exploratory Substudy of the LoDoCo2 Trial.Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2025Trial
- Effect of low-dose colchicine on pericoronary inflammation and coronary plaque composition in chronic coronary disease: a subanalysis of the LoDoCo2 trial.Heart (British Cardiac Society) · 2025Trial
- Colchicine treatment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: safety, biological and clinical effects in a randomized clinical trial.Brain communications · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Innate immune sensors of inflammasomes and PANoptosomes: structural-mechanistic insights and therapeutic implications.Cell research · 2026Review
- Drugging trained immunity: immunometabolic and epigenetic control of maladaptive inflammatory memory in chronic inflammatory diseases.Immunologic research · 2026Review
- Colchicine initiated before radiofrequency-induced injury attenuates left atrial inflammation, fibrosis, and susceptibility to atrial fibrillation.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2026Article
- Severe Colchicine Toxicity After Ingestion of a Dose Below Traditionally Reported Lethal Levels: A Case Report.Cureus · 2026Article
- Beyond NLRP3: expanding the spectrum of NLR-associated autoinflammatory diseases.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Long-Term Clinical Outcomes After Procedural Hemopericardium Requiring Pericardiocentesis During Atrial Fibrillation Ablation.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2026Article
393 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo review the literature and provide an update on the mechanisms of action and therapeutic uses of oral colchicine in arthritis and inflammatory conditions.
methodsWe performed PubMed database searches through June 2014 for relevant studies in the English literature published since the last update of colchicine in 2008. Searches encompassed colchicine mechanisms of action and clinical applications in medical conditions. A total of 381 articles were reviewed.
resultsThe primary mechanism of action of colchicine is tubulin disruption. This leads to subsequent down regulation of multiple inflammatory pathways and modulation of innate immunity. Newly described mechanisms include various inhibitory effects on macrophages including the inhibition of the NACHT-LRRPYD-containing protein 3 (NALP3) inflammasome, inhibition of pore formation activated by purinergic receptors P2X7 and P2X2, and stimulation of dendritic cell maturation and antigen presentation. Colchicine also has anti-fibrotic activities and various effects on endothelial function. The therapeutic use of colchicine has extended beyond gouty arthritis and familial Mediterranean fever, to osteoarthritis, pericarditis, and atherosclerosis.
conclusionFurther understanding of the mechanisms of action underlying the therapeutic efficacy of colchicine will lead to its potential use in a variety of conditions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.