Gout

• Definition
· Gout is the disease in which excessive uric acid deposits in joints, bursae and tendons producing extreme pain.

• Overview
· Gout is more prevalent in men
· Gout is less prevalent in women because estrogen helps the body get rid of excessive uric acid.
· Diuretics (Thiazide type) may exacerbate or bring on an attack of gout.
· Excessive uric acid may also be a predictor of risk of heart disease.
· Excessive uric acid in the blood can deposit in joint and form crystals producing a painful gout attack.
· An attack of gout can occur when uric acid levels are high or when the levels are changing.
· The large toe is the most commonly affected joint in gout.
· Other joints that may be affected by uric acid deposits and painful gout are:
· heel
· foot
· ankle
· knee
· fingers
· wrist
· elbow bursa

• Types
· Typical gout is the disease of excessive uric aid.
· Pseudogout is the disease of excessive Calcium pyrophosphate and deposition in joints producing extreme pain similar to gout.

• Symptoms
· The most common symptom of gout is a rapid onset of intense sharp pain of a joint.
· The pain is usually worse with movement.
· The affected joint is typically warm.

• Treatment

·Lifestyle modification

· Maintain a low purine diet

• Drug Therapy
· Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are helpful in controlling the inflammation associated with Gout.
· Colchicine is a drug that is commonly used to control gout by modifying how inflammatory cells function.
· Allopurinol lowers levels of uric acid in the blood.

References
Intern Med. 2005;143:499-516. [PMID: 16204163]
Rheumatology. 2005:44:1090-6. [PMID:15956094]

Posted on March 22, 2008

One Response to “Gout”

  1. Health and Wellness: Medicues Higher Uric acid levels protect against Parkinson’s disease says:
    May 6, 2009 at 10:16 pm

    [...] Uric Acid in excessive can deposit in joints and cause the disease gout.  Therefore we typically think of Uric Acid as bad and there is a trend to avoid high Uric acid [...]

    Reply

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