Gout Arthritis

Gout Arthritis

We are living in an epidemic of gout arthritis. Almost 10 million people in the United States have high uric acid and gout. Often, we think of gout affecting men who drink too much alcohol and eat too much. This has changed. Many postmenopausal women also have gout. Why?

A significant cause is that many men and women today are overweight, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

These common illnesses lead to high uric acid and high uric acid makes these disease more difficult to treat.

The presence of a high uric acid (greater than 6 mg.) occurs very often with all of these conditions.

Over years high uric acid in the blood spills into the joints and leads to Gout Arthritis which causes severe pain and swelling of joints.

We can remove fluid from a painful joint and see crystals of uric acid under a microscope. Learn more here

Musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging and DECT scanning are precise studies that can image the layering of uric acid around and in joints. See the Innovative Technology Page

Treatment of high uric acid and gout always starts with dietary changes to avoid many foods that contain large amounts of purines which lead to an excessive burden of uric acid. A change in diet alone may lower the blood uric acid 1 mg but rarely will it affect the re-occurrence of painful attacks of gout.

 

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