Diacerein (Artrodar ® ) - a New Drug from the SYSADOA Groupin the Treatment of Osteoarthritis

Overview

The authors present the pharmacological profile and an account of the clinical effectiveness ofdiacerein. It is a preparation which inhibits above all the production and activity of interleukin-1(IL-1) as well as other cytokines and catabolic enzymes which participate in the degradation ofcartilage in osteoarthritis (OA). The implemented clinical studies provide evidence of its effective-ness on pain and function in patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis. As to the character of itseffect diacerein belongs to so-called SYSADOA, symptomatically slow acting drugs in OA. The onsetof its effect is as compared with NSA retarded, the onset being after 2-4 weeks. Then its effectivenessis identical as that of NSA. While after discontinuation of NSA treatment the patients exacerbatesas a rule, after termination of diacerein treatment the favourable effect persists for another 2-3months. A recently completed study revealed that in addition to the purely symptomatic effect afterlong-term diacerein treatment the progression of OA is perhaps slower. Thus a drug potentiallymodifying the structure is involved. The assembled results will have to be confirmed in furtherinvestigations. Diacerein is a safe preparation, the main undesirable effect is diarrhoea whichhowever occurs only at the onset of treatment and as a rule does not lead to discontinuation oftherapy.

Key words:
osteoarthritis, diacerein, therapy, SYSADOA