Effect of Colchicine On Cholesterol Levels in Patients with Familial Mediterranean Fever and Behçet’s Syndrome

SerdaL Ugurlu¹, Emire Seyahi², Idil Hanci³, Huri Ozdogan⁴, Seval Masatlioglu-Pehlivan⁵ and Hasan Yazici⁶, ¹Division of Rheumatology,Department of Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey, ²Rheumatology, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, ³Department of Neurology, Krankrenhaus Nordwest, Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany, ⁴Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey, ⁵Haydarpasa Numune Research and Education Hospital, MD,Rheumatology, Istanbul, Turkey, ⁶Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical School, Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical School, Rheumatology, Istanbul, Turkey

Meeting: 2012 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Keywords: Behcet's syndrome and familial Mediterranean fever

Session Information

Session Title: Miscellaneous Rheumatic and Inflammatory Diseases: Periodic Fever Syndromes

Session Type: Abstract Submissions (ACR)

Background/Purpose: We and others have previously shown that patients with Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) had low cholesterol levels when compared to healthy controls (1-2). The causes of this abnormality are not understood. It could be due to an inherent effect of FMF or due to a lipid lowering effect of colchicine. We conducted a 12 week study to determine whether colchicine would decrease serum lipid levels in patients with FMF and Behcet syndrome (BS).

Methods: Blood cholesterol and triglycerides levels were measured in 24 patients with FMF (11 M, 13 F) and 16 (8 M, 8 F) patients with BS who were registered at the outpatient clinic of Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty. All patients were naive to colchicine or immunosuppressive treatment or any other lipid lowering drugs at study entry. Blood cholesterol and triglycerides levels were measured again after 12 weeks of colchicine 1.5 mg daily. Results: There were 19 (8 M, 11 F) patients with FMF and 15 (7 M, 8 F) patients with BS who completed 12 weeks period. Patients with FMF were (mean age: 33.8± 14.1 years) significantly younger than BS patients (mean age: 36.5 ± 9.5) (P = 0.001). Colchicine did not change significantly cholesterol and triglycerides levels in patients with FMF (Table). This was also true for patients with BS (Table). Mild diarrhea was observed in 2 patients with FMF and in 1 with BS.

Conclusion: This study provided no evidence that colchicine changes lipid levels in patients with FMF and BS.

References:

1) Ugurlu S, et al. Intima-media thickening in patients with familial Mediterranean fever. Rheumatology (Oxford).
2009 Aug;48(8):911-5.2)

2)Akdogan A, et al. Are familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients at increased risk for atherosclerosis? Impaired endothelial function and increased intima media thickness are found in FMF. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Dec 5;48(11):2351-3.

Table. Lipid levels before and after colchicine treatment

	FMF (n = 19)			BS (n = 15)
	Before colchicine	After colchicine	P	Before colchicine	After colchicine	P
T. cholesterol	168.95±77.1	181.26±48.3	0.58	181.43±50.9	172.3±44.4	0.53
Triglycerides	122.2±82.26	128.21±69.56	0.75	111.7±62.9	106.5±52.1	0.18
LDL cholesterol	120.37±44.3	112.16±39.9	0.35	115.14±38.43	106.1±39.7	0.85
HDL cholesterol	42.11±13.4	47.11±10.9	0.1	47.93±9.205	48.3±9.9	0.3

Disclosure:

S. Ugurlu,
None;

E. Seyahi,
None;

I. Hanci,
None;

H. Ozdogan,
None;

S. Masatlioglu-Pehlivan,
None;

H. Yazici,
None.

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