The Disease of Kings: Gout - an Overview

What is gout? The word gout is derived from gutta, which means drop, and is believed to be the drops of poison falling into the affected joints. It is also called disease of kings due to the fact that it is associated with rich foods and excessive alcohol consumption. (A concise History of Gout)

However, today, science has proven that gout is a rheumatological disease. When uric acid levels increase in the body, it accumulates and forms crystals in tissues, joints or kidneys.This accumulation can cause sever pain if not treated. Uric acid accumulation attacks, which is known as gout attacks, affects certain parts of the body such as the fingers and the toes.

Due to that the fact that the hormone oestrogen regulates the uric acid level, women are at lower less risk of developing gout. On the other hand, men are more prone to having attacks of gout. However, there are other factors which may increase the chance of getting gout, such as age and family history with gout.

In addition to the risk factors mentioned above, there are many other factors which contribute in the increase of uric acid level in the body, and thus, increase the risk of a gout attack. These factors are:

1- Alcohol intake

2- Being overweight

3- Taking certain drugs such as diuretics, and high blood pressure medications.

4- Not moving, staying in bed for long periods of time.

5- Not drinking enough water

6- History of Kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and lead toxicity.

7-Eating foods with high levels of purine

The following resources were used in preparing this article on disease of the kings: Gout

1: E Suresh. 2005. Diagnosis and management of gout: a rational approach. Postgraduate Medical Journal 81:572-579 http://pmj.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/81/959/572

2: Nuki G, Simkin PA. 2006. A concise history of gout and hyperuricemia and their treatment. Arthrities Research and Therapy 8(Suppl 1):S1 http://arthritis-research.com/content/8/S1/S1/?mkt=

3: Clinical Pharamacology D.R. Laurence , P.N.Bennet M.J. Brown Eighth edition

4: Dana A. Brown. 2008. Gout: A Big Pain in the Big Toe. Pharmacy Times http://www.pharmacytimes.com/issues/articles/2008-02_055.asp