Current Arthritis News and Research » Gout

Gout Increases Heart Attack Risk

awesome — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:46:24 +0000

Gout is a form of arthritis that is caused by an excess of uric acid in the bloodstream. This causes crystals to form in the joints, typically in the big toe.

Results of a recent research project, carried out by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, indicates that people with existing risk factors for heart disease may have an increased risk for heart attack or stroke if they also develop gout.

The study involved over 9,000 men who were between 41 and 63 years old. They all had above average risk for heart disease, with factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking.

The researchers found that after 17 years the men who developed gout were 30% more likely to die from cardiac arrest or other cardiovascular disease than those without gout.

Not all men with elevated uric acid levels develop gout. Men in this study that had high levels of uric acid, but did not develop gout, did not have a higher risk of cardiovascular related death.

This study supports the findings in a 2004 study of 1,423 middle aged Finnish men. That research found that men with excess uric acid in the blood had a 250% greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease than those with normal levels.

One theory is that an excess of uric acid in the bloodstream causes “oxidative stress”, which results in the LDL cholesterol being oxidized. Oxidized LDL is viewed as more dangerous because it causes hardening and narrowing of the arteries.

Originally posted 2008-07-22 21:20:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Gout Passed Across the Pacific

awesome — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:45:39 +0000

Interesting story from New Zealand discussing the possibility that high rates of gout in Pacific Islanders may be a genetic trait passed to them by ancient voyagers across the Pacific Ocean.

Dr. Hallie Buckley, from Otago University’s Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, has been studying bones from the oldest cemetery found in thePacific Islands. These remains are estimated to be 3000 to 3200 years old and were discovered on Efate Island in Vanuatu.

Dr. Hallie’s team examined the bones from 20 skeletons using radiography and other techniques and found damage to the joints in seven of them. Analysis of the damage, or erosive lesions, indicated that they were most likely caused by gouty arthritis, a build up of uric acid crystals in the joints.

The skeletons that were studied were from a people known as “Lapita”. They were named for the distinctive decorated pottery that has been found across the Pacific.

The Lapita’s diet would have consisted of plants and seafood, a diet that is rich in purines which are organic compounds that are a crucial part of DNA and RNA. This high purine diet may have set off attacks of gout in people that are susceptible.

There are scientists that have theorized that as the descendents of the Lapita people migrated across the Pacific they passed their genetic predisposition to gout on to their descendents. This is known as the “founder effect”, where a small number of people pass a genetic trait on to a large number of descendents. This could explain the high incidence of high uric acid levels and gout in many modern Pacific Island societies. The Maori of New Zealand have an incidence of gout of over 10%.

Dr. Hallie’s research was published in the publication Current Anthropolgy.

Originally posted 2007-12-27 19:54:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Genetic Link to Gout Discovered

awesome — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:45:03 +0000

Gout is a painful condition which results from high levels of uric acid in the blood. Over time the uric acid forms crystals in the joints which leads to inflammation, stiffness and pain.

Normally, the kidneys remove uric acid from the blood and eliminate it in urine. But the kidneys in those with gout do not keep up with the production of uric acid.

It has been believed that diets high in sugar, alcohol and protein lead to increased risk of gout. In fact, gout was known as the “Disease of Kings” due to its link to rich foods and alcohol.

This view may change as a result of a recent study of 12,000 people which revealed a genetic link to gout.

Scientists at the Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit and the University of Edinburgh, along with researchers in Croatia, have found a gene variation that makes it harder for the body to remove uric acid from the blood.

That gene is responsible for coding a protein known as SLC2A9 which is responsible for transporting uric acid across the membranes of the kidney. Variations in the SLC2A9 gene cause some people to have higher levels of uric acid in the blood.

The researchers identified genetic variations in the SLC2A9 gene in different populations in Orkney, Tayside and Croatia. Further analysis has eliminated links between the genetic variations in SLC2A9 and increased risk of heart disease, obesity and elevated blood pressure.

Additional research in Germany demonstrated that the gene is associated with the capacity to remove uric acid from the body through urine.

The results of this study is published in the journal Nature Genetics.

Professor Alan Wright of the Human Genetics Unit, and one of the lead authors, says: “The discovery of this important new function for the SLC2A9 protein will aid the development of drugs which could lower blood uric acid levels and prevent or treat gout.”

Another lead author, Harry Campbell, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Public Health and the University of Edinburgh says: “This discovery may allow better diagnostic tools for gout to be developed.”

Originally posted 2008-03-31 19:06:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Source of Gout Also Slows Parkinson’s Disease

awesome — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:00:16 +0000

Gout is a painful condition resulting from a buildup of urate crystals in joints, most often in the toes. Urate crystals develop due to elevated uric acid levels in the blood and are generally attributed to high levels of sugar intake.

A recent study published in the April 2008 Archives of Neurology concludes that high levels of urate may actually slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease in men.

Researchers from the Massachusetts General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease and Harvard School of Public Health reviewed data from a prior PRECEPT drug trial. That trial included 800 participants and the blood samples from these patients was screened for urate levels. This data was analyzed along with information on the disease progression of the patients.

What the researchers discovered was that newly diagnosed Parkinson’s patients with the highest levels of urate had a significantly lower progression rate of the disease over the 2 years of the study.

“These findings, combined with prior knowledge of urate’s protective properties in laboratory studies, raise the possibility that urate-elevating strategies could be used to slow the neurodegeneration of Parkinson’s disease,” says Michael Schwarzschild, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, the study’s lead author. “Potential benefits of urate have to be tempered against the known risks of elevated urate levels, which include gout and kidney stones. From what we know now, urate elevation should only be attempted in the context of a closely monitored clinical trial, in which potential benefits and risks are carefully balanced.”

Originally posted 2008-04-16 22:11:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Gout Treatment Works in Six Hours

awesome — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:00:03 +0000

Gout is a painful condition that is caused by an excess of uric acid in the blood. This excess may be deposited in joints resulting in pain and inflammation. The joints most often affected are in the big toe and other parts of the foot, as well as the ankle and knee.

Treatment often includes drugs such as probenecid and allopurinol. However, some patients do not get relief with these drugs or are unable to tolerate them.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and Savient Pharmaceuticals have recently conducted a phase II trial of a drug called pegloticase which shows great promise in reducing the level of uric acid in the blood to targets levels within a few hours. Pegloticase works by converting the uric acid into a substance that the body can more easily excrete.

The study included 41 patients who were randomly assigned to one of four different treatments – 4 or 8 mg injectible medication every 2 weeks, or 8 or 12 mg every 4 weeks – for a 12 or 14 week period. The treatment was given as an infusion which required about 2 hours.

Most of the patient’s uric acid levels reached “normal” levels within six hours, regardless of which dosage or frequency they received. In addition, those levels were sustained for the entire treatment period in those groups receiving the higher dosages. The most effective dose was found to be 8 mg every 2 weeks.

“The generally accepted goal of therapy is to reduce serum urate concentrations to less than 6 milligrams per deciliter, and we found that pegloticase can do that very, very quickly,” says John Sundy, MD, a rheumatologist at Duke and the lead author of the study.

“We were delighted to see this response, because all of the patients in our trial had already tried all the existing treatments for gout, and nothing was helping them,” said Sundy, who added that more studies need to be conducted to confirm and expand the findings.

During the treatment period, 88% of the patients did experience gout flares. Some of the patients also experienced mild to moderate side effects, including joint pain, anemia, muscle spasms, nausea, headache, kidney stones and fever.

The study findings were published online and in the September issue of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. Results from a phase III study are expected to be presented in October at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, in San Francisco.

Originally posted 2008-09-08 20:51:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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