Gout is one of the most frequent rheumatic diseases that is not given the attention it should be, despite its high prevalence and being a systemic inflammatory pathology that is associated with serious comorbidities, as warned by the Spanish Society of Rheumatology. .
In Spain it is estimated that 2.4% of the population suffers from goutwhich means nearly 880,000 affected, according to the results of the study on the prevalence of rheumatic diseases in the adult population in Spain of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (EPISER).
Nevertheless, Despite its high prevalence, this disease has not aroused the interest it deservesbeing also a systemic inflammatory pathology that associates serious comorbidities, especially at the cardiovascular and renal level”as has been shown by the Dr. Alejandro Gomezrheumatologist at the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, during his speech at the VI Meeting of the Crystalline Arthropathies Study Group of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (geacser), held in Alicante.
In the opinion of the experts, despite the fact that the diagnosis and therapeutic management of gout has improved, further progress must be made to improve its approach.
This expert, one of the coordinators of the VI Meeting of GEACSER, has also pointed out that “besides, the diagnosis and therapeutic management of gout has improved in recent decades, and there are also new therapeutic options that expand the possibilities of treatment of patients who previously did not achieve correct control of their disease, it is still necessary to continue research to advance in this field”.
in your judgment “In this area, the appearance of the concept treat to target, already used in other pathologies, as a strategy for the management of gout. The current goal is keep uric acid levels below 6 mg/dL (even 5 in some patients) and make the attacks and tophi disappear”.
For his part, he Dr. Francisco Arambururheumatologist at the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid and also coordinator of this meeting of the has highlighted that “the Image incorporation can guide therapeutic adjustments in these types of arthritis., since it allows the evaluation of the crystal load and the associated inflammation. This has direct implications in the evaluation and management of patients with inflammatory activity, but also in those in clinical remission.”.
Besides, “tools like Ultrasound can help advance the diagnosis of gout in certain patients with hyperuricemia, even before the first symptoms appear.. He has also pointed out that “In the future, new research techniques and tools such as the iartificial intelligence to improve knowledge of the etiopathogenesis of the disease and its management, with the aim of advancing towards personalized medicine”.
Regarding clinical news, the Dr. Irati Urionaguenafrom the Rheumatology Service of the Galdakao University Hospital, revealed during the meeting that there has been a great variety of advances in the last year. “Data have been presented from the possible relationship between genetic risk and the development of gout at a younger age and with more tophi. Basic research, moreover, has focused above all on the molecular study of acute inflammation processes in gout attacks”has highlighted.
About new clinical and patient assessment datathis specialist has proposed a gout attack risk prediction tool in patients hospitalized for other reasons. Furthermore, in a very interesting qualitative study led by Dr. García-Guillén, through interviews with patients, identified 4 domains of affectation which would represent the level of severity of gout attacks perceived by the patients.
New developments regarding treatment have focused on “new data on the association of immunomodulatory drugs with the use of pegloticase to improve drug tolerance and survival. As a novelty, a new inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, the tigulixostathas been shown to be effective and safe in reducing uricemia compared to placebo in a phase II study.explained Dr. Urionaguena.