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gout drug :
Researchers have identified two new genes - and confirmed the role of a third gene - associated with increased risk of higher levels of uric acid in the blood, which can lead to gout, a common, painful form of arthritis. Combined, the three genetic variations were associated with up to a 40-fold increased risk in developing gout.
For patients with type 1 diabetes, increased levels of uric acid in the blood may be an early sign of diabetic kidney disease - appearing before any significant change in urine albumin level, the standard screening test, reports a study in the May 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The results raise the possibility that treatments to reduce uric acid might slow the decline of renal function in patients with diabetes.
Risk factors for gout include family history, older age, renal insufficiency, use of medications that reduce urate excretion, high intake of foods that increase urate production (beer, seafood, red meat, high-fructose beverages), and comorbidities such as obesity and metabolic syndrome. About 90% of acute gout attacks are monoarticular; 50% occur in the first metatarsophalangeal joint. Pain, redness, and swelling peak in 1 day.
Ipsen (Paris:IPN) announced that the European Commission granted marketing authorisation for Adenuric® (febuxostat) for the treatment of chronic hyperuricaemia in gout. Adenuric® thus pioneers the first major treatment alternative for gout, a severe debilitating disease, for more than 40 years.
According to an article published early online and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet, researchers have gained new insights into the genetic properties of gout. Dr Caroline Fox (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA) and colleagues demonstrate that three genes are linked to an increased risk of gout. Well before onset of clinical symptoms, doctors can analyze a genetic risk score based on these genes to find those at highest risk of the condition.
An international team of researchers led by Professors Mark Caulfield and Patricia Munroe, from the William Harvey Research Institute at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry with Chris Cheeseman at the University of Alberta in Canada and Kelle Moley at the University of Washington in USA, have shown that the SLC2A9 gene, which encodes a glucose transporter, is also a high-capacity urate transporter, and thus possibly a new drug target for gout.
The goal in treating patients with gout is to reduce acute attacks by lowering serum urate levels, which are usually high in this disease. At the same time, high serum urate levels have been shown to lower the risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD). A new study compared the safety and efficacy of febuxostat, a new drug being developed for gout that was recently approved for use in Europe, and a commonly used drug that has been around for years.
If you are planning to go to the Glastonbury music festival this weekend and your prayers for a dry and warm few days aren't answered, you might like to heed BBC reporter Andy Sully's advice and look after your feet, or you could end up with trench foot, as he did last year. The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, better known as Glastonbury or Glasto, is the largest music and performing arts festival of its kind in the world.
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