Hope for people who have gout

A new medication, called Uloric, may be close to FDA approval in the United States after an FDA advisory board recommended approval.

Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis that was once called the disease of kings because it seemed to affect royalty more than the common folk.  It used to thought that gout was more common in the richer classes because the foods they could afford often triggered bouts of pain from gout. Gout is quite common though, affecting 1 in 30 Canadians (about 500,000) and up to 5.1 million Americans.

Uric acid, a waste product in the blood and urine, comes from chemical breaking down of certain types of foods. The uric acid build up causes stiff, swollen, and red joints – gout. Gout often is first found in the big toe, but can also affect the ankles, heels, knees, wrists, fingers and elbows.

For treatment, there are few options right now. The only medication available that prevents the formation of uric acid, which is what causes the pain, is allopurinal, but allopurinol has several side effects and it’s not effective in all people with gout. According to the manufacturer, Uloric doesn’t have those complications and it’s safe to take even if you have kidney problems. Allopurinol should be used with caution and in low doses. But, the low doses aren’t as effective, which defeats the purpose of the drug.

There was a request to approve Uloric in 2005 that was refused by the FDA over concerns of a slightly higher rate of heart problems and deaths with Uloric over allopurinol. To address this, another study was done and the results of this study showed no such increase.

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Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, gout, painful big toe, uric acid build up, uloric, allopurinol