Gout causes extreme pain in those affected. It is caused by crystals of uric acid settling in the joints. Its treatment is a pharmaceutical success story. Nowadays, medicines treat it so effectively that patients can have an undisturbed quality of life.
Disease: Gout
Last update: July 2009
Intro
FAQ: What does the future hold?
Although the pace of research has slowed - because of the success of the available medicines - new compounds are being investigated. It is expected that these will be as effective but mean that the patient need take less medicine every day.
Dr. Trudy Elion and Dr. George Hitchins were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for their basic research on purine metabolism, that is an underlying cause of gout.
Dr. Trudy Elion and Dr. George Hitchins were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for their basic research on purine metabolism, that is an underlying cause of gout.