====== Colchicine ======

//Colchicine// is an anti-inflammatory medication used to treat Gout and [[content:medicine:diseases:a-f:behcets_disease]]. Sold under the brand names //Colcrys, Mitigare, Gloperba //and many others.

It was originally isolated from a herbal remedy - the //Autumn Crocus //plant - in use for at least 3,000 years to reduce joint swelling.

There are currently more than 2 million prescriptions per year in the US alone, and it's now a generic medicine in the UK.

There are at least seven different theories currently under investigation to try to show how it works - none of which has been accepted as a full explanation. It's suggested that it might :

  * inhibit microtubule polymerization by binding to its constitutive protein, tubulin
  * inhibit mitosis, as availability of tubulin is essential to mitosis,
  * inhibit activation and migration of neutrophils to sites of inflammation
  * interfere with the inflammasome complex found in neutrophils and monocytes that mediate interleukin-1β activation, a component of inflammation
  * inhibit superoxide anion production in response to urate crystals
  * interrupt mast cell and lysosome degranulation
  * inhibit release of glycoproteins that promote chemotaxis from synovial cells and neutrophils

Source : [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colchicine#Mechanism_of_action|Wikipedia]]

A full explanation may include any of the above - perhaps in combination(s). Or there may be an as yet undiscovered mechanism of action.