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4 Facts You Need to Know About Gout Arthritis.

4 Facts You Need to Know About Gout Arthritis.

May 24, 2020 0 Comments

Joint pain is one problem faced by the elderly population affecting their lifestyle as it limits them from their daily routine activities. Although it mostly affects elderly population, adults are also not immune from it, according to CDC data around 23% of all adults, which accounts for more than 54 million people in the US, 24 million adults are limited in their activities due to joint pain. which might have an enormous impact on a country’s economy.

What is arthritis?

Arthritis is the medical term used for inflammation in joints; it is a progressive degeneration of joints. Joint will be swollen, it will have severe pain, enough to limit your activities, there will be redness all over it and it will be hot on touch.

What is gouty arthritis?

Gout is marked by transient attacks of acute arthritis, it is an inflammatory disease caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals in and around the synovial joint. The prevalence of gout varies between populations but is approximately 1-2%, with a greater than 5:1 male preponderance. Increased uric acid concentration or decreased uric acid excretion play a role in the pathophysiology of gout.

4 Facts about gouty arthritis.

1. Uric acid; the main culprit.

    About one-third of the body's uric acid pool is derived from dietary sources and two thirds from endogenous purine metabolism. The concentration of uric acid in body fluids depends on the balance between endogenous synthesis, and elimination by the kidneys and the gut. Purine synthesis and degradation are regulated by a network of enzyme pathways. Xanthine oxidase catalyzes the end conversion of hypoxanthine to xanthine and then xanthine to uric acid. Uric acid then aggregates to form MSU crystals.

    2. Eating meat can cause gout.

      Yes, you read it right meat is one of the many causes to cause gout but it does not mean you should stop having meat in your diet as it is an essential part of one’s meal. Meat is a major source of protein for human body and protein is used by our body in different activities like increase in muscle mass, growth of bones, hair, and nails, furthermore, protein helps burn fat thus can play a very important role in weight loss

      As much as we have emphasized on the benefits of meat and protein, now we should answer the question how eating meat can cause gout, meat contains purines, especially red meat, seafood, and offal contains a very high concentration of purine, the end product of which is uric acid, eventually, contributing in increasing uric acid concentration. Any meal you have should consist of a balanced diet. 

      3. Drugs can also cause gout.

      Drugs like thiazides and loop diuretics, low dose aspirin, cyclosporine, and pyrazinamide interfere with the excretion of uric acid. These drugs compete with uric acid in the renal tubule for excretion thus building up the concentration one way or another.

      4. Cancer causes gout.

      Myeloproliferative and lymphoproliferative disorders have increased cell turn over, as the cell undergoes apoptosis, its DNA is also degraded and the end product of which is a purine, which eventually transforms into uric acid causing gout.