Subject: gout

From: [email-masked] (BASEL, LESLIE)
Date: 4 May 1994 23:42 MST

Last night, as I was reading some of my favorite food books on feasting,
I thought about gout.  I am well aware that gout is caused by uric
acid traveling throughout the bloodstream, then crystalizing in joints,
toes,etc.  It was (is?) a disease of affluence, caused by rich, heavy
food.

My question is: How come we rarely hear about gout today?  Are we eating
better (BigMacs and movie popcorn sound to me like gout inducers ;^))?
Better medicine maybe--but that might imply that gout now is a disease
of the poor, and not of the rich..Either way, I never hear about gout
now... Any speculations?

Oh yes, I'm not planning a party with a gout theme, I'm just trying
to change the conversation.

Leslie [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Michael Van Auken)
Date: Fri, 06 May 1994 17:00:28 -0600

> of the poor, and not of the rich..Either way, I never hear about gout

Gout is not as uncommon as you seem to think.  A great number of people
suffer from mild gout that don't know it (due to it not being a common
topic of conversation).  It is also not too difficult to treat (at least to
keep from getting worse) so debiitating cases are rare.  My father suffers
from it (a mild case in his left big toe).  Medication took care of it.

Michael Van Auken     |     Einstein has overcome time and space.  Harvey
[email-masked]     |     has overcome not only time and space--but any
713/743-1502          |     objections.

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From: [email-masked] (Barry Shein)
Date: Sat, 7 May 1994 07:21:08 GMT

My father has fairly bad gout (tho it's compounded by some general
circulatory problems in his feet.) I suspect it's not that rare if you
ask people of the right age. It's just not that, I dunno, interesting
or exciting and there are drugs that help control it. People don't
normally stop me on the street to chat about their gallstones either
but I suspect they're out there.

-- 
        -Barry Shein

Software Tool & Die    | [email-masked]          | uunet!world!bzs
Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: 617-739-0202        | Login: 617-739-WRLD

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From: [email-masked] (Mary Shafer)
Date: Wed, 11 May 1994 03:22:25 GMT

On 4 May 1994 23:42 MST, [email-masked] (Leslie, LESLIE) said:
Leslie> Last night, as I was reading some of my favorite food books on
Leslie> feasting, I thought about gout.  I am well aware that gout is
Leslie> caused by uric acid traveling throughout the bloodstream, then
Leslie> crystalizing in joints, toes,etc.  It was (is?) a disease of
Leslie> affluence, caused by rich, heavy food.

No, it isn't.  It's a metabolic disorder that will become apparent if
there are too many purines in the diet of someone who has the disorder.

To tie this to another thread, one source of purines is offal--organ
meats. 

Leslie> My question is: How come we rarely hear about gout today?  Are
Leslie> we eating better (BigMacs and movie popcorn sound to me like
Leslie> gout inducers ;^))?  Better medicine maybe--but that might
Leslie> imply that gout now is a disease of the poor, and not of the
Leslie> rich..Either way, I never hear about gout now... Any
Leslie> speculations?

Big Macs and movie popcorn are perfectly safe, but lay off the kidneys
and red wine.

I think that the drug used for gout is colchine (or some such name--I
think I'm a syllable short here) and it comes from the autumn crocus.

Gout is usually treated by limiting the intake of purines, but the
drug is used for difficult cases.  Like many metabolic disorders,
different people have different sensitivities.

--
Mary Shafer                                                   DoD #362 KotFR   
SR-71 Chief Engineer         NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA
[email-masked]                Of course I don't speak for NASA
 "A MiG at your six is better than no MiG at all."  Unknown US fighter pilot

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From: [email-masked] (Dorothy J Heydt)
Date: 12 May 1994 04:39:35 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
>think I'm a syllable short here) and it comes from the autumn crocus.

Colchicine, I think.  And it does come from the autumn crocus
and, like many another medication, it's seriously poisonous in
excess amounts.  Not something you'd want to brew up yourself.
But if you look in the used bookstores you might find _The
Convivial Codfish_ by Charlotte McLeod, a whodunit in which
colchicine is the instrument of murder. Well worth reading, like
most of her other books.

Dorothy J. Heydt
[email-masked]	
University of California
Berkeley

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From: [email-masked] (Mary Shafer)
Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 17:41:22 GMT

On 12 May 1994 04:39:35 GMT, [email-masked] (Dorothy J Heydt) said:

Dorothy> In article <[email-masked]>, Mary
>think I'm a syllable short here) and it comes from the autumn crocus.

Dorothy> Colchicine, I think.  And it does come from the autumn crocus
Dorothy> and, like many another medication, it's seriously poisonous
Dorothy> in excess amounts.  Not something you'd want to brew up
Dorothy> yourself.  But if you look in the used bookstores you might
Dorothy> find _The Convivial Codfish_ by Charlotte McLeod, a whodunit
Dorothy> in which colchicine is the instrument of murder. Well worth
Dorothy> reading, like most of her other books.

You've just mentioned the main source of my information about the
drug, Dorothy.  The other bits about gout, which you properly left
out, came from my mother's and my doctors, since the disorder is
inherited.  I don't get all my medical information from murder
mysteries, although well-written ones (a la Patricia Cornwall) can be
remarkably informative.

I's like to reinforce Dorothy's comment here--don't try this at home.
I thought it was interesting that it came from the autumn crocus, but
I certainly was not suggesting that anyone try crocus extract for an
aching big toe.