![]() ![]() Gout is also more common in males-almost 80% of people with gout are male. For example, genetic differences can impair urate excretion, thereby increasing blood urate levels. Gout can run in families, with genetics playing a key role in determining urate levels. But what causes high levels of urate? While we don't know exactly, several factors certainly contribute.Ī tangled web links urate, gout and other metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Inflammation and debilitating pain follow.Ī high level of urate in the blood is the greatest risk factor for gout. When urate crystals form in the fluid cushioning a joint, the body's defence forces see them as foreign invaders. If your urate levels become too high, the urate turns into crystals. Urate levels reflect how much is made in the liver and how much is flushed out when you go to the toilet. ![]() Urate, or uric acid, is an end-product of the breakdown of biochemicals called purines, which are both components of your DNA and absorbed into the body through the foods you eat. While the big toe is particularly susceptible, gout can also affect the ankles, knees, elbows, wrists and fingers. It's caused by sodium urate crystals forming in the joints. Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis. But living with gout has far-reaching implications, hampering a person's ability to participate in everyday life. Often gout is seen as being self-inflicted, a mark of overindulgence. Almost one in 20 Australians have had at least one attack of gout.Īnd some stigma still clings to the condition. Today, no longer just a disease of kings, the prevalence of gout is increasing around the world. Scientific evidence today suggests this may have something to do with it, though the common belief drinking port specifically causes gout is unfounded. This moniker also reflects the fact gout has historically been associated with indulging in rich food and excessive alcohol. It became known as "the disease of kings." Many famous historical figures suffered with gout, including Christopher Columbus, Henry VIII, Benjamin Franklin and Beethoven. ![]() Hippocrates, traditionally regarded as the father of medicine, called it " the unwalkable disease", because it was very painful for people with gout to walk. Although there is evidence that colchicine, an alkaloid derived from the autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale), was used as a powerful purgative in ancient Greece more than 2000 years ago, its first use as a selective and specific treatment for gout is attributed to the Byzantine Christian physician Alexander of Tralles in the sixth century AD.With a history spanning more than 4,500 years, gout is among our earliest recorded diseases. Because it is clearly associated with a lifestyle that,atleast in the past, could only be afforded by the affluent, gout has been referred to as the 'disease of kings'. Throughout history, gout has been associated with rich foods and excessive alcohol consumption. The term is derived from the Latin word gutta (or 'drop'), and referred to the prevailing medieval belief that an excess of one of the four 'humors' - which in equilibrium were thought to maintain health - would, under certain circumstances, 'drop' or flow into a joint, causing pain and inflammation. First identified by the Egyptians in 2640 BC, podagra (acute gout occurring in the first metatarsophalangeal joint) was later recognized by Hippocrates in the fifth century BC, who referred to it as 'the unwalkable disease'. ![]()
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