Colchicine alters protein networks in a coronary disease trial
A randomized crossover trial analyzed 48 people with stable coronary artery disease and blood cell groups sharing genetic changes; colchicine altered inflammatory protein networks.
Limit: The analysis included only protocol-adherent participants, leaving out non-adherent randomized patients
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers randomized 54 people with stable coronary artery disease and clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, a condition involving groups of blood cells with shared genetic changes. The analysis included 48 participants who followed the protocol; their mean age was 70, and 81% were male. Participants received colchicine at 0.5 mg once daily or placebo for four weeks, then switched.
Researchers measured blood proteins before treatment, during colchicine use and four weeks after it stopped. During colchicine use, links between the frequency of these genetic changes and inflammatory protein networks weakened markedly. Those links partly returned after colchicine stopped. White blood cell counts fell, but C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, two markers of inflammation, did not change.
Why it matters
For coronary artery disease, the work offers a basis for studying anti-inflammatory approaches tailored to genetic changes in blood cells.
Caveats
The analysis included only protocol-adherent participants, mostly older men with both conditions, so it does not establish effects in people without them. The conference abstract did not establish clinical benefit or report adverse events.
