Gout – (also known as podagra when it involves the big toe) is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected (approximately 50% of cases). However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate nephropathy. It is caused by elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. The uric acid crystallizes, and the crystals deposit in joints, tendons, and surrounding tissues.
Clinical diagnosis is confirmed by seeing the characteristic crystals in joint fluid. Treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroids, orcolchicine improves symptoms. Once the acute attack subsides, levels of uric acid are usually lowered via lifestyle changes, and in those with frequent attacks, allopurinol or probenecid provide long-term prevention.
Gout has increased in frequency in recent decades, affecting about 1–2% of the Western population at some point in their lives. The increase is believed due to increasing risk factors in the population, such as metabolic syndrome, longer life expectancy and changes in diet. Gout was historically known as “the disease of kings” or “rich man’s disease”.
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Glucocorticoids (GC) are a class of steroid hormones that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which is present in almost every vertebrate animal cell. The name glucocorticoid (glucose + cortex ) derives from their role in the regulation of the metabolism of glucose, their synthesis in the adrenal cortex, and their steroidal structure (see structure to the right).
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Colchicine is a medication that treats gout. It is a toxic natural product and secondary metabolite, originally extracted from plants of the genus Colchicum(autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale, also known as “meadow saffron”). It was used originally to treat rheumatic complaints, especially gout, and still finds use for these purposes today despite dosing issues concerning its toxicity. It was also prescribed for its cathartic and emetic effects.
In addition to gout, colchicine is use to treat familial Mediterranean fever, pericarditis, and Behçet’s disease. It is also being investigated for its use as ananticancer drug.
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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually abbreviated to NSAIDs—but also referred to as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents/analgesics(NSAIAs) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIMs)—are a class of drugs that provide analgesic and antipyretic (fever-reducing) effects, and, in higher doses, anti-inflammatory effects.
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A purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound. It consists of a pyrimidine ring fused to an imidazole ring. Purines, including substituted purines and their tautomers, are the most widely occurring nitrogen-containing heterocycle in nature.[1]
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Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is a product of the metabolic breakdown of purine nucleotides. High blood concentrations of uric acid can lead to a type of arthritis known as gout. The chemical is associated with other medical conditions including diabetes and the formation of ammonium acid uratekidney stones.
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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks flexible (synovial) joints. The process involves an inflammatory response of the capsule around the joints (synovium) secondary to swelling (hyperplasia) of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development of fibrous tissue (pannus) in the synovium. The pathology of the disease process often leads to the destruction of articular cartilage and ankylosis (fusion) of the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis can also produce diffuse inflammation in the lungs, membrane around the heart (pericardium), the membranes of the lung (pleura), and white of the eye (sclera), and also nodular lesions, most common in subcutaneous tissue. Although the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown, autoimmunity plays a pivotal role in both its chronicity and progression, and RA is considered a systemic autoimmune disease.
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Preventive medicine or preventive care consists of measures taken to prevent diseases,[1] (or injuries) rather than curing them or treating their symptoms. This contrasts in method with curative andpalliative medicine, and in scope with public health methods (which work at the level of population health rather than individual health). Occupational medicine operates very often within the preventive medicine.
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