Repurposing Colchicine to Improve Vascular Function in Hypertension
Status:
Active, not recruiting
Trial end date:
2023-04-10
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
In this project the potential beneficial effect of the drug colchicine on vascular reactivity
and blood pressure will be assessed. Colchicine is a commonly used anti-inflammatory
medication approved for the treatment of gout, Familial Mediterranean Fever and pericarditis
in Denmark. The current project idea is based on accumulating evidence in the literature for
a beneficial role of colchicine treatment in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in
parallel with novel mechanistic insight from our own research. Recently, colchicine was
associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, including reduced myocardial
infarctions, strokes and acute coronary syndrome . However, none of these trials have
investigated the effect of colchicine on arterial tone or stiffness, changes to which may
underlie the reduced risk of cardiovascular disease associated with colchicine. In support of
the hypothesis that colchicine will improve vascular reactivity, a study in 1985 by Lagrue et
al. found that daily, low-dose colchicine improved arterial stiffness in a small cohort of
hypertensive patients. More recently, colchicine was shown to improve arterial stiffness in
patients with Familial Mediterranean fever supporting a cardiovascular protective role of
colchicine. Finally, colchicine is also proposed to have anti-inflammatory effects in the
vascular system.