In three pages gout, an inflammatory and metabolic medical condition is considered in a general description, its causes, diagnosis, pharmacological treatment, and prevention through diet and lifestyle changes. Five sources are cited in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: AM2_PPgout.rtf
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The condition affects both men and women but in men over forty it is one of the most common forms of inflammatory joint diseases, they in fact comprise between
eighty and ninety percent of the people affected by gout (McConnell, 2001). Women are typically affected somewhat later in life than are men (McConnell, 2001). Gout in women
is believed to occur in association with their menopausal hormonal changes in which the decline of estrogen, which normally stimulates uric acid excretion, translates into increased uric acid concentrations (Joseph
and McGrath, 1995). Any rapid changes in these concentrations can lead to acute gout (Joseph and McGrath, 1995). When the
body experiences problems in either the synthesis of purines or the excretion of uric acid or renal fluids intense pain and swelling can result (McConnell, 2001). A number of
factors can exasperate gout. Nutrition is believed to be one of these factors. Diets high in the purines adenine and guanine are believed to be especially problematic as
they contribute to hyperuricemia (high serum uric acid) which is often found associated with acute severe arthritis of gout (Joseph and McGrath, 1995; Flieger, 1995). The body converts these
substances to uric acid through metabolism. Approximately two thirds of the uric acid in our bodies is the strict result of internal metabolism while one third originates with food
(Flieger, 1995). While we know that the increased consumption of non-saturated fats, however, can actually result in the increase of estrogen in the body, it has not been
demonstrated that this has a direct effect on gout. Calcium, on the other hand, is believed to play a role in preventing gout (McCord, 2002).