Gout Animations

Arthritis Advisory Committee Recommends FDA Approval Of Febuxostat For The Treatment Of Hyperuricemia In Patients With Gout
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc., U.S., announced today that the Arthritis Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended that the FDA approve febuxostat for the treatment of hyperuricemia in patients with gout. The vote was 12 to zero in favor of approval, with one panel member abstaining.

Treatment For Gout And The Condition's Protective Effects
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.

While Infecting Humans Tiny Fungi May Reproduce Sexually
A fungus called microsporidia that causes chronic diarrhea in AIDS patients, organ transplant recipients and travelers has been identified as a member of the family of fungi that have been discovered to reproduce sexually. A team at Duke University Medical Center has proven that microsporidia are true fungi and that this species most likely undergoes a form of sexual reproduction during infection of humans and other host animals.

SLC2A9 Is A High-Capacity Urate Transporter In Humans, Discovered By Researchers
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.

Discovery Of New Genes Linked To Gout
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.

Three Genes Found To Be Linked To Gout
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.

How To Avoid Trench Foot At Glastonbury
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.

Gout - Adenuric(R) (Febuxostat) Receives Marketing Authorisation In The European Union
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.

Early Clues To Diabetic Kidney Disease May Be Provided By Uric Acid In The Blood
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.

Gout Risk Linked To Genes
A study led by a team of scientists in Scotland suggests that genes may play a part in increasing one's risk of developing gout, a painful condition that affects the joints. The study is published in the 9 March online issue of Nature Genetics and is the work of researchers based at the MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, and colleagues from other research centres in the UK and also in Croatia and Germany.