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Three Genes Raise Gout Risk
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 The additive effect of having all three gene variants can increase the risk for gout 40-fold, the researchers reported. This increased risk is substantially higher than other factors that account for developing the disease.
"Small effects from multiple genes can be associated with substantial risk for disease," Fox noted.
Dr. Martin Aringer, from the Division of Rheumatology at the University Clinical Centre Carl Gustav Carus in Dresden, Germany, and author of an accompanying journal editorial, believes the findings could have an impact on treating gout.
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"The main problem in gout is a problem in renal excretion," Aringer explained. "More than 90 percent of all gout patients are not able to get rid of uric acid the way they should," he said.
"All these polymorphism [gene types] are pretty common. If you have several polymorphisms, then you are very likely to get gout," he said.
By understanding the genetic components that increase the risk for gout, it might be possible to develop new medications that could target the disease more directly, Aringer said.
In addition, some of these genes could play a role in diabetes and other diseases, Aringer said. "New medications might change things we can't even speculate about today," he said.
More information
For more about gout, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 10/1/2008
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SOURCES: Caroline Fox, M.D., Ph.D., U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Md.; Martin Aringer, M.D., Division of Rheumatology, University Clinical Centre Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden, Germany; Sept. 30, 2008, early online release, The Lancet
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