Gout is a painful form of arthritis that comes on suddenly and can be debilitating for many. Many people try to control the symptoms of gout with diet, and some need to use medicine.
One of the prime medicines is colchicine. Researchers have recently discovered that colchicine can actually help patients who are experiencing other diseases, including heart disease and Covid-19. Colchicine, which helps to decrease swelling as it decreases the build up of uric acid crystals that cause pain in joints, has been helpful to heart patients and Covid-19 patients in these recent studies.
Study examines Colchicine’s impact on heart attacks and strokes
A study out of France shows that a medicine used to treat gout, colchicine, has been very effective in helping patients who have had a heart attack or stroke reduce their risk of having another cardiac event. “Over a decade, more than one in three heart patients will have another heart attack or stroke, or die from heart disease, despite taking preventive medication,” said study author Dr. Mark Nidorf of GenesisCare, Australia. “Our study shows that this could be reduced to one in four with the addition of low-dose colchicine.” Clearly, colchicine could be a life-saving drug for patients in this situation.
Colchicine might help COVID patients
Across the pond in Canada, researchers this month have found that colchicine has had a positive effect on those patients with Covid-19. In the release, which was issued late Friday, the Montreal Heart Institute said that the rate of hospitalization or death was 21% lower among patients in its COLCORONA study who received colchicine compared to those who were randomly assigned to placebo. Some experts say this number is not statistically significant, but scientists will keep working. They are hesitant to jump to conclusions after the malaria drug did not pan out as a Covid-19 antidote last year.
Science is constantly advancing, and with all that scientists know about colchicine, odds are good that it will continue to help patients with a variety of maladies. Time will tell if it could be the magic bullet for Covid-19.
