Comparative efficacy of low-dose versus regular-dose colchicine to prevent flares in gout patients initiated on urate-lowering therapies

The value of musculoskeletal ultrasound in predicting gout flares in index joints: A prospective cohort study of people with gout starting urate-lowering therapy

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate whether ultrasound findings of monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition predict frequent gout flares in index joints over 12 months.

METHODS

This single-center study enrolled people with at least one gout flare involving the MTP1, ankle or knee joint. The most painful or most frequently joint was identified as index joint for analysis. All participants were started on urate-lowering therapy and had an ultrasound scan of the index joints at the baseline visit. OMERACT scores (for tophus, double contour sign and aggregates) were used to analyze whether ultrasound scores predicted frequent (≥2) gout flares in the index joint over 12 months.

RESULTS

Frequent flares were significantly higher in those with ultrasound findings in all index joints (MTP1: tophus: 85.0% vs 46.0%, P < 0.001, aggregates: 78.8% vs 59.0%, P < 0.01; ankle: tophus: 54.6% vs 20.8%, P < 0.001; aggregates: 60.0% vs 35.9%, P < 0.05; knee: tophus: 68.4% vs 28.6%, P < 0.05). For the MTP1, for each 1-point increase in tophus score, the odds of frequent gout flares increased by 5.19 [(95%CI: 1.26-21.41), 7.91 [(95%CI: 2.23-28.14), and 13.79 [(95%CI: 3.79-50.20)] fold respectively. For the ankle, a tophus score of 3 markedly improved the prediction of the frequent flares [OR= 9.24 (95%CI=2.85-29.91)]. Semi-quantitative sum scores were associated with frequent flares with an OR (95%CI) of 13.66 (3.44-54.18), P < 0.001 at the MTP1, 7.05 (1.98-25.12), P < 0.001 at the ankle.

CONCLUSION

Ultrasound features of MSU crystal deposition at the MTP1 and knee predict subsequent risk of frequent gout flares in the same joints following initiation of urate-lowering therapy, with the highest risk in those with high tophus scores.

Seeing Colchicine in a New Light: Repurposing Low-dose Colchicine for Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

PURPOSE

This review presents a modern perspective on the cardiovascular re-purposing of colchicine, the oldest drug in the pharmacopeia other than aspirin that is still in regular use.

METHODS

This article presents a brief overview of colchicine's long history as a medicine, as well as a critical review of safety and efficacy from the results of recent cardiovascular clinical trials.

FINDINGS

Long-term continuous colchicine use at doses between 0.6 and 2.4 mg has been used to prevent inflammatory flares in patients with gout and familial Mediterranean fever and less commonly employed in a range of other inflammatory conditions. In these settings, lifelong therapy has been found to be safe and well tolerated. Understanding the central role of inflammation in atherosclerosis has led to the search for effective anti-inflammatory agents that can be used continuously in combination with a range of other medications, including lipid-lowering therapies, antiplatelet therapy, and anticoagulants. The results of recent robust randomized clinical trials of low-dose colchicine (0.5 mg daily) in patients with coronary disease recently led the US Food and Drug Administration to approve its use as a new cornerstone therapy for secondary prevention in patients with coronary disease. Several misconceptions regarding the safety and tolerability of low dose colchicine are addressed.

IMPLICATIONS

Colchicine has emerged from its traditional role in medicine as the prevention of gout flare as the first anti-inflammatory agent to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the secondary prevention of atherosclerosis.

Gout therapeutics and drug delivery

Gout is a common inflammatory arthritis caused by persistently elevated uric acid levels. With the improvement of people's living standards, the consumption of processed food and the widespread use of drugs that induce elevated uric acid, gout rates are increasing, seriously affecting the human quality of life, and becoming a burden to health systems worldwide. Since the pathological mechanism of gout has been elucidated, there are relatively effective drug treatments in clinical practice. However, due to (bio)pharmaceutical shortcomings of these drugs, such as poor chemical stability and limited ability to target the pathophysiological pathways, traditional drug treatment strategies show low efficacy and safety. In this scenario, drug delivery systems (DDS) design that overcome these drawbacks is urgently called for. In this review, we initially describe the pathological features, the therapeutic targets, and the drugs currently in clinical use and under investigation to treat gout. We also comprehensively summarize recent research efforts utilizing lipid, polymeric and inorganic carriers to develop advanced DDS for improved gout management and therapy.

Current state and prospects of gout treatment in Korea

Effective management of gout includes the following: appropriate control of gout flares; lifestyle modifications; management of comorbidities; and long-term urate-lowering therapy (ULT) to prevent subsequent gout flares, structural joint damage, and shortening of life expectancy. In addition to traditional treatments for gout, novel therapies have been introduced in recent years. Indeed, new recommendations for the management of gout have been proposed by various international societies. Although effective and safe medications to treat gout have been available, management of the disease has continued to be suboptimal, with poor patient adherence to ULT and failure to reach serum urate target. This review outlines recent progress in gout management, mainly based on the latest published guidelines, and specifically provides an update on efficient strategies for implementing treatment, efficacy and safety of specific medications for gout, and cardiovascular outcomes of ULT. In particular, we reviewed gout management approaches that can be applied to a Korean population.

Consensus Statement Regarding the Efficacy and Safety of Long-Term Low-Dose Colchicine in Gout and Cardiovascular Disease

Over the last decade, evidence has demonstrated that long-term, low-dose colchicine (0.5 mg daily) is effective for preventing gout flare and cardiovascular (CV) events in a wide range of patients. Given the potentially expanding use of colchicine in CV disease, we here review and update the biologic effects and safety of colchicine based on recent data gathered from bench and pharmacodynamic studies, clinical reports, controlled clinical trials, and meta-analyses, integrated with important studies over the last 50 years, to offer a consensus perspective by experts from multiple specialties familiar with colchicine's long-term use. We conclude that the clinical benefits of colchicine in gout and CV disease achieved at low dose do not sustain serum levels above the upper limit of safety when used in patients without advanced renal or liver disease or when used concomitantly with most medications. Further, data accrued over the last 50 years strongly suggest that the biologic effects of long-term colchicine do not increase the risk of cancer, sepsis, cytopenia, or myotoxicity.

What's new on the front-line of gout pharmacotherapy?

INTRODUCTION

Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis affecting millions of people around the world. Painful flares and tophaceous deposits can be debilitating, reducing quality of life among those affected and putting strain on health care systems.

AREAS COVERED

This review provides an overview of the treatment of gout for flare pain management and lowering serum urate. Firstline agents are discussed with emphasis on emerging evidence. Novel therapies are also covered.

EXPERT OPINION

Lifestyle modifications form a part of gout prevention. Regarding gout flare pharmacotherapy NSAIDs, colchicine and glucocorticoids are first line agents. The IL-1β antagonists also are highly effective for arresting flares but their cost-effectiveness render them as salvage therapies. Allopurinol is an agent of first choice for urate lowering therapy (ULT). In South East Asian and Black populations screening for HLA*B58:01 mutation is a cost-effective approach to decrease the occurrence of the rare but potentially very serious allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome (AHS.). Febuxostat is another efficacious urate lowering therapy but it has received U.S. FDA black box warning for cardiovascular safety and careful consideration is warranted before its initiation in patients with high cardiovascular risk. Novel uricosurics are a class for continued drug development; verinurad and arhalofenate are agents with future promise. For patients with recalcitrant gout, pegloticase is another effective option in the rheumatologist's armamentarium. Its immunogenicity significantly threatens the achievement of sustained urate lowering responses. Abrogating pegloticase's immunogenicity with immunomodulatory co-therapy may lend to sustained efficacy.