Colchicine Reduces Restenosis after Balloon Angioplasty Treatment for In-Stent Restenosis

Background and Aims Treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis (ISR) is hampered by a high incidence of recurrent ISR. Colchicine is an old drug with known anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative actions. We evaluated the strategy of colchicine combined with conventional balloon angioplasty for the treatment of ISR. Methods and Results Sixty coronary arteries of 60 mini-pigs underwent oversized bare-metal stent implantation to induce ISR. After 28 days, vessels with ISR (≥50% diameter stenosis) were randomly divided into three groups: control (conventional balloon angioplasty combined with placebo), colchicine (conventional balloon angioplasty combined with colchicine) and drug-eluting balloon (DEB). Restenosis and neointima formation were elevated with angiography and histological and morphometric analysis at 28 days after different interventions. Late lumen loss and percent area stenosis at follow-up were lower in colchicine group compared to control group but were similar to those of DEB group. There was no significant difference in proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive vascular smooth muscle cells and inflammatory score between the colchicine group and the DEB group. Conclusions The efficacy of colchicine combined with conventional balloon angioplasty for treatment of ISR was comparable to that of DEB. Treatment of ISR might not require a second stent implantation, and colchicine combined with conventional balloon angioplasty seemed to be another consideration.