NCT04303689

Repurposing Colchicine to Improve Vascular Function in Hypertension

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 31 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Copenhagen · Academic / Other
• Sex: Male
• Age: 40 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

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.

Detailed description

In this project w the potential beneficial effect of the drug colchicine on vascular reactivity and blood pressure is evaluated. 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 research of the investigators. 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 thehypothesis 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.

Conditions

• Essential Hypertension

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Colchicine Tablets	patients with essential hypertension are randomized to receive either 3 weeks of colchicine
DRUG	Placebo	patients with essential hypertension are randomized to receive either 3 weeks of placebo-treatment

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-08-01
• Primary completion: 2022-12-01
• Completion: 2023-02-28
• First posted: 2020-03-11
• Last updated: 2023-05-10

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Denmark