[Periodic arthralgia: teratogenicity of colchicine and its influence on pregnancy and sterility (author's transl)].

Pregnancy appears to exert a beneficial effect on periodic arthralgia, the frequency of episodes being reduced by a half. Sterility, probably of anavulatory rather than mechanical origin, occurs in one third of cases. Its frequency could be diminished by colchicine, which by its anti-inflammatory action can prevent the development of mechanical sequelae. Though colchicine appears to lack teratogenetic activity, it should be discontinued three months before pregnancy.