Gout is caused by high uric acid in the blood. In the past it was known as the Patrician’s Malady and thought to be a disease of indulgence, and until the introduction of drugs that lowered the uric acid level, patients suffered recurrent and frequent acute agonising gout and chronic gout leading to polyarthritis, tophi and other organ damage. Today this is unlikely apart from in non-compliant patients.
Acute gout is a very Read the rest of this entry »
Polyphenols found in green tea may both prevent arthritis and reduce the severity of symptoms according to a study published in the April 1999 edition of the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers compared mice who were fed water containing 0.2% green tea polyphenols with mice who received pure water after the mice were injected with collagen in order to induce arthritis.
In three independent Read the rest of this entry »
A new study published in the July issue of Arthritis Care & Research indicates that men and women with RA who perceive that they have better mutuality, meaning responsive communications, with their spouses or partners have better mental and physical health outcomes.
This study investigated relational mutuality in women and men with RA. Relational mutuality is one aspect of a theory of women’s psychological development, called self-in-relation Read the rest of this entry »
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For patients with lupus, long-term treatment with hydroxychloroquine, started soon after the disease is diagnosed, seems to protect against kidney damage, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology meeting in San Francisco.
Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE, is a chronic “autoimmune” disease in which the immune system can confuse healthy Read the rest of this entry »
Glucosamine is an amino-sugar that is a major component of joint cartilage. It is thought that glucosamine can help rebuild cartilage and reduce inflammation, making it an effective treatment for osteoarthritis. While some studies have found glucosamine effective for the treatment of osteoarthritis, other studies have not found a link between glucosamine and osteoarthritis.
Probably the largest clinical study of glucosamine’s Read the rest of this entry »
In the days before adequate treatment controlled the blood level of uric acid, chronic gout presented with multiple joint involvement and chronic poly-arthritis. Today this is rare and only found in patients who refuse medication or have poor compliance. Here the acute gout attack will become more frequent. Then other joints become involved. The crystals deposited in and around the joints are needle shaped and I suspect this is why acute gout Read the rest of this entry »
Heavy babies could be more than twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than babies of a normal weight according to an American study published this month in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
The study focused on 13,639 women from the Nurses Health Study who were followed between 1976 and 2002. During that time 683 (5.0%) of the women developed rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers found that women with a birth Read the rest of this entry »
If you have an episode of acute gout, it does not mean you have to be on continuous drug therapy to reduce your blood uric acid level. It simply means that your doctor will look for possible factors that may influence the level of uric acid in your blood and continue to check you uric acid level. From my previous posts you will know that gout can be affected by various factors.
Once all the possible influences on your gout are checked Read the rest of this entry »
A recent study in the United Kingdom has isolated a gene, that causes people with rheumatoid arthritis to be as much as three times more likely to die prematurely from cardiovascular disease.
The study which was funded by the Arthritis Research Campaign and led by Dr. Tracey M. Farragher at the University of Manchester involved over 1,000 individuals with arthritis. At the conclusion of the study 242 of the patients had died with Read the rest of this entry »
Hyperuricaemia is a higher than normal blood level of uric acid. There are individuals with high blood uric acid levels and have never had an attack of gout. Are these people at risk of arthritis of the joints and kidney stones from urate crystals deposits? Yes they are.
Firstly the diagnosis of asymptomatic hyperuricaemia is made more frequently because of more screening, and blood tests for insurance purposes. Secondly you can break Read the rest of this entry »
