Gout Pain Fix Driven By BS

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Maybe it's the gout pain in my wrist that's making me tetchy. Or maybe it's the amount of BS I'm seeing today. New gout research means hope for new gout therapies? More like new gout research reaches new heights of BS. Actually, the research I have seen, is probably of massive interest to those who need to understand how gout pain works. It's just not relevant to us poor gout sufferers. We need better treatment using the therapies already available rather than wasting time and money on inflicting gout on mice. Let me explain (more…)...
Read More

Uric Acid Blood Test Debate

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
My campaign for better uric acid blood test procedures is taking shape now suspended. I'm driven by recent forum discussions and my own experiences. Clearly, there are some issues with getting blood tests at the right time, and getting the results interpreted correctly. Therefore the early stages of my campaign will focus on preparing proper information to fight the campaign. I need your help whilst I gather my information into easy-to-read campaign material and prepare the campaign website. I need to build a picture of the state of uric acid testing as it stands today, all around the world. I need you to share your uric acid blood test results. To do this, I have prepared a poll and a couple of surveys. Before you submit your information, please take a moment to read my gout poll guidelines that are part of my extended gout discussion guidelines. For completeness, I should also have survey guidelines, but does such a simple form filling exercise...
Read More

Protein And Uric Acid Connection

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Yesterday, somebody asked me "What is the protein and uric acid connection?" I can sum it up in two words. Very complex. But you want more than that, don't you? The simplest explanation is that purines from cell metabolism and some foods get broken down to uric acid in the human body. Most other animals produce other enzymes (uricase) that continue to breakdown uric acid further, so that it is easier to excrete. Humans do not have that enzyme because we want to keep some of the uric acid. It neutralizes free oxygen radicals in our body that would otherwise cause extensive cell damage. That is why normal human lifespan is greater than many animals. From that, we can see that the protein and uric acid connection is a simple one: (more…)...
Read More

Is Gout Inherited?

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
We often wonder, is gout inherited? I'm working on guidelines for inherited gout. We often call this hereditary gout or genetic gout. For the moment, the best factual information is Is Your Gout Hereditary?. This, and similar information form the basis of my Gout Symptoms Guidelines, especially Why do I have Gout?. We can see that gout is often, but not always, inherited. Obviously, you cannot change your parents. But you should understand what hereditary gout means for you. Therefore, note we have three interchangeable terms (hereditary gout, genetic gout, and inherited gout). Then use the search box at the top of the page to search for each of these terms. Or, do a combined search by copying hereditary gout|genetic gout|inherited gout into the search box. Continue reading Is Gout Inherited?...
Read More
Gout Article: The Lancet, Jan 2010

Gout Article: The Lancet, Jan 2010

by odo Comment Closed
The most recent article on gout from the UK's leading medical journalGout. The Lancet. Jan 2010.pdf (781 KB) GoutPal Note: This is an excellent summary on the current understanding of gout, and how best to treat it. Towards the end, the authors note: patient information seems to be an outstanding issue in the management of gout?every patient should be informed about the disease, its curable nature, the targets and practicalities of drug therapy, how to prevent and handle flares, and the importance of lifestyle and dietary factors. And that, my friends, is the GoutPal raison d'?tre....
Read More

Back Pain And Gout

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
The article about back pain and gout from 9 years ago is still very popular. Today, we see back pain being associated with gout much more than we used to. So, there is much more discussion of back pain from gout, and spinal gout, in the gout forums. Now that the gout forums are moving to a new website, it's a good time to look at the latest discussions. You can see current discussions at back pain with gout and at spinal gout. Better still, start your own discussion to see if your back pain is caused by gout. Original Back Pain and Gout article follows: Is Back Pain Caused By Gout?Your back pain might be spinal gout. A recent study, that I missed from my December 2006 Newsletter, shows that spinal gout is much more common than previously thought. In a study by Bhandaru and others, Prevalence of Spinal Gout, 630 medical records of gout patients were reviewed and 64 selected where CT...
Read More

Gout Toe Pain – Can You Hear It?

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
The Sound Of Gout Toe Pain Diagnosis of gout has never been easy. In most cases it starts with toe pain and a swollen big toe, but in many cases it doesn't. Where gout goes undetected, problems can build up - unnoticed and untreated. Recent research includes ultrasound and a number of studies have looked at the effectiveness of ultrasound in diagnosing gout.A recent study comparing ultrasound to conventional x-ray has shown some remarkable findings. Not least of which is the ability of ultrasound to measure effects of gout even when the patient has had no gout pain. ARD - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, the EULAR journal, has just published a study from Dr Stephen A Wright and others online prior to publication. The objectives of the study, High resolution ultrasonography of the 1st metatarsal phalangeal joint in gout ,were: Compare high resolution ultrasound (HRUS) with conventional radiography in the detection of big toe damage (erosions in the 1st MTPJs)...
Read More