Low-dose colchicine may lower the incidence of total hip and knee replacements by a third in older adults with chronic coronary artery disease, report Australian and Dutch cardiologists. 

Results from a phase III trial — the largest of its kind to date — showed that this association remained significant even after excluding those with gout at baseline. 

“This suggests that colchicine may slow the progression of osteoarthritis,” said the team, which included Perth cardiologists Professor Peter Thompson and Dr Stefan Nidorf. 

The original LoDoCo2 trial, involving some 5500 patients (mean age 66) with chronic coronary artery disease, investigated whether 0.5mg colchicine once daily reduced the rate of cardiovascular death, MI and stroke during an average two years’ follow-up.