Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a disabling condition with limited effective treatments, and while anti-inflammatory therapies may benefit patients with an inflammatory phenotype, their effectiveness remains uncertain. To address this gap, a study evaluated the efficacy of the interleukin-1Ξ² blocker diacerein compared with placebo on knee pain in 262 patients with knee OA and MRI-confirmed inflammation. The study found no significant improvement in knee pain with diacerein compared with placebo over 24 weeks (β19.9 mm vs β18.6 mm).
Gastrointestinal adverse events were more common with diacerein (41.7%] vs 25.4%), particularly diarrhea (38.6% vs 29). Additionally, urine colour change was reported in 13 participants (9.8%) receiving diacerein. These findings suggest that diacerein (50 mg twice daily) does not improve knee pain compared with placebo in patients with symptomatic kneeβ¦
