Gout News

Allopurinol dose escalation for patients with gout did not result in improved survival under the currently common practice of prescribing only limited increases, according to findings published in Arthritis and Rheumatology.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Febuxostat was noninferior to allopurinol in terms of adverse CV event rates in patients with gout and major CV coexisting conditions, according to the results of the CARES study presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session.

Patients with gout who were treated with probenecid had a modestly decreased risk for cardiovascular events including myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure exacerbation, compared with those treated with allopurinol, according to findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Electronic medical records were effective in helping physicians analyze quality of care indicators for gout, and could lead to improved care and outcomes for patients, according to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology.

It’s the disease of kings, royalty, aldermen and the most common form of inflammatory arthritis with more than 5 million Americans afflicted, but as Rodney Dangerfield used to say: “Can’t I get a little respect here?” This year I declare, among other promulgations, this was the year of gout in San Diego with literally dozens of abstracts.

There is much discussion surrounding the mechanisms and pathogenesis of microcrystalline arthropathies and gout. Specifically, calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease can have a range of gout-like symptoms that may present like polyarthritis among other conditions. Clinicians have investigated specific components of these crystalline arthropathies, including fibrocartilage, hyaline cartilage, tendons and synovial fluid, for information about how they may be managed. The body of knowledge is growing but remains incomplete.

SAN DIEGO — At the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, Machelle Manuel, PhD, vice president of medical scientific affairs at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, discussed study findings that analyzed physician, patient and treatment characteristics related to patients with gout treated with allopurinol. The study also determined the proportion of patients who reached their serum uric acid target by allopurinol dose.

SAN DIEGO — At the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, Machelle Manuel, PhD, vice president of medical scientific affairs at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, discussed study findings that examined potential associations of type 2 diabetes and gout with clinical outcomes, as well as variations in gout severity, management and health care use among patients with both conditions.

SAN DIEGO — At the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, C. Kent Kwoh, MD, spoke about research on symptoms among patients with osteoarthritis, and how those symptoms may predict the time to joint replacement. According to Kwoh, 2-year changes in pain were important motivators for patients in the top tertial in terms of receiving joint replacement.

SAN DIEGO — At the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting, Ashika Chhana, PhD, spoke about research that examined the effects of health, osteoarthritic and degraded human cartilage on three steps of monosodium urate crystallization. According to Chhana, in crystallization assays, additional human cartilage increases the number of monosodium urate crystals, and impacts the size of those crystals.