Skimmed milk enriched with two components of dairy products may help reduce the frequency of gout flare-ups, shows research.
Previous long term research has shown that the risk of gout is greater among those whose diet is low on dairy products.
And experimental studies indicate that certain components of dairy products, particularly glycomacropeptide (GMP) and G600 milk fat extract (G600), seem to dampen down the inflammatory response to gout crystals.
The authors studied the frequency of gout flare-ups in 120 patients with the condition over a period of three months. All the patients had experienced at least two flare-ups in the preceding four months.
The patients were divided into three different treatment groups: lactose powder; skimmed milk powder; or skimmed milk powder enriched with GMP and G600.Each powder was mixed in 250 ml of water as a vanilla flavoured shake and drunk daily.
The patients attended a rheumatology clinic monthly to check on their requirement for medication and their symptoms, which they recorded using a daily flare diary and validated pain scale.
There were no significant differences among the three groups at the start of the study in terms of frequency of gout flare-ups, pain, or drugs used to treat the condition.
In all, 102 patients completed the three month study. And the results showed that those on the enriched skimmed milk diet had a significantly greater reduction in gout flare-ups compared with the other two groups.
They also had greater improvements in pain and the amount of uric acid in their urine than those in the other two groups. This was matched by a trend towards a reduction in the number of tender joints.
The enriched skimmed milk diet did not boost weight gain or increase the levels of potentially harmful blood fats.
"This is the first reported randomised controlled trial of dietary intervention in gout management, and suggests that daily intake of skimmed milk powder enriched with GMP and G600 may reduce the frequency of gout flares," conclude the authors.
Gout Cases Missed By Traditional Tests Often Detected By CT Scans
Author : Medical News Today
Date : November 7, 2011
X-ray images known as CT scans can help confirm gout in patients who are suspected of having the painful condition but receive negative results from traditional tests, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The type of CT scan analyzed, dual-energy computed tomography, is also valuable for diagnosing people who cannot be tested with the typical method of drawing fluid from joints, researchers found. The study is being presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual scientific meeting in Chicago.
Gout - the buildup of uric acid crystals in and around joints, causing inflammation and painful, potentially disabling flare-ups - has historically been portrayed as a disease of the wealthy, but it afflicts people from all walks of life. Men are likelier to develop gout, but women's risk rises after menopause, when their uric acid levels approach those of men. Treatment usually involves medication and dietary changes.
Physicians traditionally check for gout by using a needle to draw fluid from affected joints and examining the fluid for uric acid crystals. Dual-energy CT scans were recently modified to detect the crystals, and the study found the scans "very accurate" in identifying patients with gout, says lead researcher Tim Bongartz, M.D., a rheumatologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
"We wanted to really challenge the new method by including patients who were only a few days into their first flare of gout," Dr. Bongartz says.
Dr. Bongartz notes that CT scans are significantly more expensive than the standard test for diagnosing gout. He also cautions that, while highly accurate overall, in one subgroup of patients studied - those with very acute gout - the CT scan failed to identify 30 percent of cases. The new tool is most helpful when joint fluid cannot be obtained or the fluid analysis comes back negative even when gout is strongly suspected, he says.
Risk of Gout in Women Increased by Fructose-rich Beverages
Author : Kathy Jone
Date : November 11, 2010
New research has indicated that consumption of fructose-rich beverages, such as sugar-sweetened sodas and orange juice is associated with an increased risk of gout among women.
However their contribution to the risk of gout in the population is likely modest because of the low incidence rate among women, according to a study that will appear in the November 24 print edition of JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Rheumatology annual scientific meeting.
Gout is a common and very painful inflammatory arthritis. "The increasing disease burden of gout in the United States over the last few decades (e.g., an annual incidence of 16/100,000 in 1977 vs. 42/100,000 in 1996) coincided with a substantial increase in soft drink and fructose consumption," the authors write. "Fructose-rich beverages such as sugar-sweetened soda and orange juice can increase serum uric acid levels and, thus, the risk of gout, but prospective data on the relationship are limited."
Hyon K. Choi, M.D., Dr.P.H., of the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues examined the relationship between intake of fructose-rich beverages and fructose and incidence of gout in a large group of women. The study consisted of data from the Nurses' Health Study, a U.S. prospective cohort study spanning 22 years (1984-2006). The researchers analyzed data from 78,906 women with no history of gout at the beginning of the study and who provided information on intake of beverages and fructose through validated food frequency questionnaires.
Caffeinated Drinks Increase Risk Of Recurrent Gout Attacks
Author : VR Sreeraman
Date : November 10, 2010
People who drink caffeinated drinks are at an increased risk of recurrent gout attacks, suggests a new study.
Long-term caffeine intake has been associated with a decreased risk for gout attacks.
However, in the short-term, caffeine has been found to increase uric acid, which can potentially trigger an attack.
In a study, researchers studied 633 participants who had experienced a gout attack within one year of the study to compare the amount of caffeinated beverage consumption during periods of gout attacks to periods without attacks.
They noted the amount of caffeine (e.g., coffee, tea, other caffeinated beverages) and non-caffeinated beverages (e.g., non-caffeinated coffee, tea, sodas, juices) each participant consumed during a 24-hour period before a gout attack as well as during a 24-hour period without a gout attack.
Among these participants with gout both with irregular daily caffeinated beverage consumption and increased intake of caffeinated beverages in the prior 24 hours were at a higher risk for recurrent gout attacks.
For example, consuming three or four more servings of caffeinated beverages in the prior 24 hours was associated with 40 to 80 percent increased risk of recurrent gout attack.
"In this study, we found that intermittent increased caffeinated beverage intake-such as caffeinated coffee, tea, or soda-was associated with an increased risk of gout attacks even after taking into account all other fluid intake," said Tuhina Neogi of the Boston University School of Medicine and lead investigator in the study.
"In contrast, non-caffeinated coffee, tea, soda or juices were not associated with an increased risk of gout attacks. These findings suggest that episodic increases in consumption of caffeinated beverages can trigger gout attacks in the short-term," added Neogi.
Gout Risk Factors For Women: Obesity, Hypertension, Alcohol And Diuretic Use
Author : Dawn Peters, Wiley-Blackwell
Date : March 30, 2010
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine found that women with serum uric acid levels over 5 mg/dl had a significantly lower risk of developing gout than men. This study, the first to examine the relationship between uric acid levels and gout risk in women, also evaluated purported risk factors for gout and found that increasing age, obesity, hypertension, alcohol use, and diuretic use to be among leading contributors for women. Results of this 52-year follow-up study are published in the April issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.
Gout is a common and excruciatingly painful inflammatory arthritis caused by elevated uric acid levels in the blood. When too much uric acid builds up in joint fluid, uric acid crystals form and cause joint swelling and inflammation. Historically, gout was seen as a male disease, however growing evidence suggests the disease is also a concern for older women. According to the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III) the prevalence of gout in women was 3.5% for ages 60-69 years, 4.6% in the 70-79 age group, and 5.6% in those 80 or older. Furthermore, the Rochester Epidemiology project study found the incidence of gout has doubled among women over the past 20 years.
The research team led by Hyon Choi, M.D., D.Ph., analyzed data from the Framingham Heart Study for 2,476 women and 1,951 men who had a complete follow-up history and who were free of gout at baseline. The mean age at baseline was 47 years for women and 46 years for men. Researchers evaluated serum uric acid levels and risk factors for gout that included: age, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, hypertension, medication use (diuretics, hormone replacement therapy), blood glucose and cholesterol levels, and menopause status. At baseline the mean serum uric acid level was 4.0 mg/dl for women and 5.1 mg/dl for men.
"We identified 104 gout cases in women and 200 in men over the 28-year median follow-up period," said Dr. Choi. "The gout incidence per 1,000 person-years was 1.4 in women and 4.0 in men." Specifically, results showed that the incidence rates of gout for women per 1,000 person-years according to serum uric acid levels of <5.0, 5.0-.9, 6.0-.9, 7.0-.9, and ≥8.0 mg/dl were 0.8, 2.5, 4.2, 13.1, and 27.3, respectively.
Results also found among the purported risk factors for gout, increasing age, obesity, alcohol consumption, diuretic use, and hypertension were independently associated with higher risk of gout incidence in women. However, researchers found only a stronger age effect among women placed them at higher risk factors for gout than men. The age-adjusted relative risk (RR) of gout in post-menopausal women was 4.18 and the RR for gout in women using hormone replacement therapy was 0.24. Other risk factors did not differ significantly between women and men.
"Our study found that higher levels of uric acid in the blood increase the risk gout risk for women in a graded manner," concluded Dr. Choi. The risk of gout among women with serum uric acid levels ≥8 mg/dl was 46 times higher than that among women whose levels were <5 mg/dl. However, results show the magnitude of the association between gout and uric acid blood levels among women was significantly lower than for men. "Confirming our results using specific case definitions (observation of urate crystal in joint fluid) would provide to be a valuable contribution to understanding gout incidence in both sexes."
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Gout is a well known, yet not as common form of arthritis caused by an accumulation of uric acid crystals in joints, causing joint pain and inflammation.
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Gout is more common occurs for men than in women. According to the research gout is 5 times more common in men than in women. Normally, it attack age between 30 and 50 and for women normally after menopause. More...
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Gout (also called metabolic arthritis) is a disease due to an inborn uric acid metabolism. In this condition sodium urate crystals are deposited on the articular cartilage of joints and in the particular tissue like tendons. More...
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Too much uric acid (Hyperuricemia) in the blood cause of Gout Uric Acid and inherited factors also play a big role in development of Gout Uric Acid. When uric acid levels in the blood are too high, uric acid may crystallize and accumulate in the joints.
