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Gout Patient Samples

by | Jan 10, 2023 | Info | 0 comments

Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade, matched cryogenically preserved K2EDTA plasma, sera (serum) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), bio-fluid samples from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

The K2EDTA plasma, sera (serum) and PBMC bio-fluid specimens are processed from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.

Gout Overview

Gout is a general term for a variety of conditions caused by a buildup of uric acid. This buildup usually affects the feet. This is a common type of arthritis that causes intense pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints. It usually affects the joint at the base of the big toe, known as the metatarsophalangeal joint. Its main cause is a build-up of too much uric acid in the blood.

If the body produces too much uric acid or kidneys are not able to process and filter out, it can build up and cause tiny sharp crystals to form in and around the joints. These crystals can cause the joint to become inflamed (red and swollen) and painful.

Gout affects more than 3 million Americans and is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in males. And although it is less likely to affect them overall, females have a higher rate of developing gout after menopause.

If you have gout, you’ll probably feel swelling and pain in the joints of your foot, particularly your big toe. Sudden and intense pain, or gout attacks, can make it feel like your foot is on fire.

Gout attacks can come on quickly and may keep recurring over time. This ongoing resurgence can slowly harm tissue in the inflammation area and can be extremely painful. Hypertension, cardiovascular conditions, and obesity are risk factors for gout.

Risk Factors of Gout

Following some of the reasons that may increase your chances of getting gout:


Additional Risk Factors 

Many factors can increase the likelihood of hyperuricemia and gout, including the following:

  • Age: Gout is more common in older adults and rarely affects children.
  • Sex: In people under the age of 65 years, gout is four times as prevalent among males than females. This ratio slightly decreases in people over the age of 65 years to be three times as likely.
  • Genetics: A family history of gout can increase the likelihood of a person developing the condition.
  • Lifestyle choices: Alcohol consumption interferes with the removal of uric acid from the body. Eating a high-purine diet also increases the amount of uric acid in the body. Both of these can lead to gout.
  • Lead exposure: Studies have suggested a link between chronic lead exposure and an increased risk of gout.
  • Medications: Certain medications can increase the levels of uric acid in the body. These include some diuretics and drugs containing salicylate.
  • Weight: Being overweight or obese and having high levels of visceral body fat have associations with an increased risk of gout. However, being overweight or obese cannot directly cause the condition.
  • Other health conditions: Renal insufficiency and other kidney conditions can reduce the body’s ability to remove waste, leading to elevated uric acid levels. Other conditions associated with gout include high blood pressure and diabetes.


Types of Gout

Following several types of gout and various stages through which gout progresses.

Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia

A person can have elevated uric acid levels without any outward symptoms. While individuals do not need treatment at this stage, high uric acid levels in the blood can cause silent tissue damage.

As a result, a doctor may advise a person with high uric acid levels to address factors possibly contributing to its buildup.

Acute Gout

This stage occurs when urate crystals in a joint suddenly cause acute inflammation and intense pain. This sudden attack is a “flare” and may last between 3 days and 2 weeks. Stressful life events and excessive alcohol consumption could be contributors to flare-ups.

Interval or Intercritical Gout

This stage is the period in between attacks of acute gout. As a person’s gout progresses, these intervals become shorter. Between these periods, urate crystals may continue to build up in tissue.

Chronic Tophaceous Gout

Chronic tophaceous gout is the most debilitating type of gout and may result in permanent damage to the joints and the kidneys. At this stage, people can have chronic arthritis and develop tophi in cooler areas of the body, such as the joints of the fingers.

Chronic tophaceous gout typically occurs after many years of acute gout attacks. However, it is unlikely that individuals who receive proper treatment progress to this stage.

Pseudogout

One condition that experts easily confuse with gout is calcium pyrophosphate deposition, known as pseudogout. The symptoms of pseudogout are very similar to those of gout, although the flare-ups are usually less severe.

The major difference between gout and pseudogout is that the joints are irritated by calcium pyrophosphate crystals rather than urate crystals. Pseudogout requires different treatments than gout.

Signs and Symptoms of Gout

The main symptom of gout is intense joint pain that subsides to discomfort, inflammation, and redness. Some patients have too much uric acid in their blood but no symptoms. This is called asymptomatic hyperuricemia.

Gout frequently affects the base of the big toe but can also occur in the forefoot, ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, and fingers.

For acute gout, symptoms come on quickly from the buildup of uric acid crystals in your joint and last for 3 to 10 days.

You’ll have intense pain and swelling, and your joint may feel warm. Between gout attacks, you won’t have any symptoms.

If you don’t treat gout, it can become chronic. Hard lumps called tophi can eventually develop in your joints and the skin and soft tissue surrounding them. These deposits can permanently damage your joints. Prompt treatment is important to prevent gout from turning chronic.

Causes of Gout

The buildup of uric acid in the blood from the breakdown of purines causes gout.

Also, certain conditions, such as blood and metabolism disorders or dehydration, make your body produce too much uric acid.

A kidney or thyroid problem, or an inherited disorder, can make it harder for your body to remove excess uric acid.

You’re more likely to get gout if you are:

  • A middle-aged man or postmenopausal woman
  • Drink alcohol
  • Have parents, siblings, or other family members with gout
  • Take medications such as diuretics and cyclosporine
  • Having a disease like high blood pressure, kidney disease, thyroid disease, diabetes, or sleep apnea.

For some people, gout is caused by consuming foods that are high in gout producing purines.

Diagnosis of Gout

Gout is usually diagnosed based on the patient’s symptoms and the appearance of the affected joint.

Following tests are performed to help diagnose gout:

  • Joint fluid test. Your doctor may use a needle to draw fluid from your affected joint. Urate crystals may be visible when the fluid is examined under a microscope.
  • Blood test. Your doctor may recommend a blood test to measure the levels of uric acid in your blood. Blood test results can be misleading, though. Some people have high uric acid levels, but never experience gout. And some people have signs and symptoms of gout, but don’t have unusual levels of uric acid in their blood.
  • X-ray imaging. Joint X-rays can be helpful to rule out other causes of joint inflammation.
  • Ultrasound. This test uses sound waves to detect urate crystals in joints or in tophi.
  • Dual-energy computerized tomography (DECT). This test combines X-ray images taken from many different angles to visualize urate crystals in joints.

Treatment of Gout

Gout medications are available in two types and focus on two different problems. The first type helps reduce the inflammation and pain associated with gout attacks. The second type works to prevent gout complications by lowering the amount of uric acid in your blood.

Which type of medication is right for you depends on the frequency and severity of your symptoms, along with any other health problems you may have.

Medications to Treat Gout

Drugs used to treat gout flares and prevent future attacks include:

  • Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): NSAIDS include over-the-counter options such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve), as well as more-powerful prescription NSAIDS such as indomethacin (Indocin, Tivorbex) or celecoxib (Celebrex).
  • Colchicine. Your doctor may recommend colchicine (Colcrys, Gloperba, Mitigare), an anti-inflammatory drug that effectively reduces gout pain. The drug’s effectiveness may be offset, however, by side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
  • Corticosteroids. Corticosteroid medications, such as prednisone, may control gout inflammation and pain. Corticosteroids may be in pill form, or they can be injected into your joint. Side effects of corticosteroids may include mood changes, increased blood sugar levels and elevated blood pressure.

Home Remedies

Patients with gout can manage flare-ups by moderating what they eat and drink a balanced diet can help reduce symptoms.

Decreasing foods and drinks high in purines to ensure that uric acid levels in the blood do not get too high is an important first step.

Foods high in purines include:

  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Foods and drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup
  • Game meats
  • Glandular meats, such as kidneys, livers, and sweetbreads
  • Red meats
  • Seafood
  • Shellfish

An individual can reduce their risk of developing gout by limiting their intake of purine-rich foods. However, avoiding purine consumption altogether is not necessary. Moderate consumption of purine-rich items can help manage uric acid levels and gout symptoms and benefit overall dietary health.

Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis. As a result, a person experiencing symptoms of gout may benefit from general arthritis home treatments. These include staying active, maintaining a moderate weight, and performing low-impact exercises to support health.

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