gms | German Medical Science

Objectives: Colchicine, which is known to be effective in preventing adhesion and fibrosis in humans, may also be effective in frozen shoulder disease, which is characterized by fibrosis, inflammation, and adhesion. Our aim was to observe how colchicine treatment affects each phase of frozen shoulder in terms of clinical and histopathological aspects.

Methods: 60 female Wistar Albino rats, aged 8 months, were divided into 5 separate groups, each consisting of 12 rats (sham: group S, 3-week control: group C1, 3-week treatment: group T1, 6-week control: group C2, 6-week treatment: group T2). In all groups except for group S, a frozen shoulder model was applied using plaster. The control groups and all rats except for the sham group were administered 0.6 mg/day of colchicine via gavage. Half of the rats in each group (6 rats) underwent radiological evaluation and measurement of joint range of motion (ROM), while the other half (6 rats) underwent histopathological evaluation. Radiological measurements of abduction and external rotation angles were taken for shoulder ROM. In the histopathological examination, synovial hyperplasia, inflammatory changes, pannus formation, capillary vessel formation, and connective tissue formation were evaluated.

Results: Radiologically, the mean abduction angles were 88.07°±7.97° in group C2, 109.60°±9.13° in group T2, and the improvement was statistically significant (p=0.002). The mean angle was 94.41°±4.12° in group C1 and 95.32°±8.69° in group T1, but no significant difference was found (p=0.588). A significant difference was found between group S and group C2 (p=0.005). The mean external rotation angles were not statistically different (p>0.05). When inflammatory changes were examined, a significant increase was found in group C1 compared to group S (p=0.003) and in group C2 compared to group S (p=0.011). When new capillary formation was examined, a significant increase was found in group C1 compared to group S (p=0.002) and in group T1 compared to group S (p=0.001). When pannus amounts were examined, the pannus amount in group S was significantly lower than in group C1, C2, T1, and T2 (p=0.014, p=0.019, p<0.001, p=0.001).

Conclusion: Although colchicine did not show statistical significance at the histopathological level in the treatment of frozen shoulder, its therapeutic effects were identified, leading to significant improvement in shoulder abduction. We propose that this drug, commonly employed for various rheumatological conditions, should also be considered for frozen shoulder treatment. In the rat model utilized, frozen shoulder manifested both radiologically and histopathologically, suggesting the potential use of this model in future studies.