Gout Drug Allopurinol may Prove Effective Against Chronic Kidney Disease

Use of allopurinol the gout drug is potentially beneficial in reducing risk of kidney disease, stated new study.

Gout drug allopurinol was found to protect against the development of chronic kidney disease, revealed new study.

Traditionally there has been concern from physicians that this medication may increase risk of Chronic Kidney Disease //(CKD), despite a lack of clear data supporting this relationship. As such, many patients find themselves undertreated, leading to poorer gout outcomes.

Prevention of Kidney Disease - Causes & Prevention
Kidney damage is usually detected at advanced stages. Healthy lifestyle, keeping diabetes and blood pressure under check, and regular tests can help prevent it.

‘The drug allopurinol used to manage gout may offer protection against chronic kidney disease. ’

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) utilized The Health Improvement Network (a general practitioner medical records database representative of the United Kingdom's general population) to evaluate kidney function in gout patients after starting allopurinol.

They found that of the more than 4,000 patients started on full-dose allopurinol for prevention of gout flares, 12.2 percent had developed Stage 3 CKD after an average of five years of treatment, as compared to 13.1 percent of non-users over a similar period. The researchers conclude that the use of allopurinol in the management of gout is not only safe, but also potentially beneficial in reducing risk of kidney disease.

Tuhina Neogi, MD, PhD, corresponding author of the study and professor of medicine and epidemiology at BUSM and BU School of Public Health, sees these results as an important step forward in the long-term treatment of gout. "Ultimately, we hope these results will be disseminated to PCPs and internists taking care of patients with gout (since the bulk of patients with gout are managed in primary care) so that allopurinol is not held or stopped when a patient experiences a creatinine bump," said Neogi, a rheumatologist at Boston Medical Center.

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Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis in the United States (affecting 3.9 percent of Americans, more than eight million adults. Gout flares are caused by the formation of urate crystals within the joints, leading to significant pain and swelling. Allopurinol is the most frequently used medication to manage gout, including the long-term prevention of gout flares by reducing the amount of urate circulating through the blood.

Source-Eurekalert

Allopurinol
Allopurinol is prescribed to treat gouty arthritis and prevent specific kidney stones by reducing high uric acid levels in the blood.

This medication is a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, recommended for treating the increased uric acid levels caused by cancer drugs.

Anatomy of Urinary System
Animation & slides showing anatomy of urinary system and the role of kidneys in getting rid of the waste products and excess fluid from our body to keep us healthy.