O besity & HTN
L ead poisoning --> saturnine gout (hits the knee preferentially)
D rugs (i.e. thiazides, furosemide, low dose ASA)
A ge
G enetics (partial HGPRT deficiency, etc.)
E tOH (beer > liquor > wine)
Gout is a disease of imbalanced production & excretion of a substance called uric acid. Humans are unusual animals in that we do not break down our purine DNA metabolites beyond uric acid (into substances like allatoin.) When uric acid accumulates in joints, it can spontaneously form into sharp needle-like crystals that cause inflammation and extreme pain, most commonly in the big toe (podagra.)
It can be avoided by reducing OLD AGE risk factors, especially through an appropriate diet of no alcohol and low-purine foods. That means no beer, seafood or organ meats.
References/Resources
Lippincott's Biochem 2nd edition
Harrison's Internal Medicine
Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease
Poor, G. Saturnine Gout. Baillieres Clin Rheumatol. 1989 Apr;3(1):51-61. I just used the abstract to figure out what made Pb-induced gout different.
Choi, Hyon. Pathogenesis of Gout. Ann Intern Med. 2005;143:499-516.
Golan's Principles of Pharmacology
Posts
The Patients Voice invites to a ResBlog about Gout
ReplyDeleteDear Friend
May I take this opportunity to invite you to a new online research blog discussing the impact of gout on lifestyle and environment?
If you suffer from gout then this is a great opportunity to share your views. By doing so you may have a positive impact on the treatment options on offer in the future.
To take part please click the link below:
http://www.thepatientconnections.com/blog.asp?uid=z0nsrl
Please bear in mind that all contributions can be anonymous and your comments will be used to design a new international research project.
Contribution is easy! Just fill in a user name of your choice and type in your comments.
Feel free to share this link with anyone you may feel would be interested. We are very keen to hear their views as well.
Kind regards and many thanks for your help
Belinda
The Patients Voice – Community Manager