![]() ![]() Perhaps the most important historical advance in the treatment of hyperuricemia was the development of xanthine oxidase inhibitors, which are effective in reducing plasma and urinary urate levels and have been shown to reverse the development of tophaceous deposits. In the modern era, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are usually the drugs of choice for treating acute gout. Uricosuric agents were first used at the end of the 19th century. Although there is evidence that colchicine, an alkaloid derived from the autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale), was used as a powerful purgative in ancient Greece more than 2000 years ago, its first use as a selective and specific treatment for gout is attributed to the Byzantine Christian physician Alexander of Tralles in the sixth century AD. Because it is clearly associated with a lifestyle that, at least in the past, could only be afforded by the affluent, gout has been referred to as the 'disease of kings'. Throughout history, gout has been associated with rich foods and excessive alcohol consumption. The term is derived from the Latin word gutta (or 'drop'), and referred to the prevailing medieval belief that an excess of one of the four 'humors'-which in equilibrium were thought to maintain health-would, under certain circumstances, 'drop' or flow into a joint, causing pain and inflammation. Why is uric acid elimination sometimes insufficient? Besides certain diets, there are a number of other reasons and one of them is the inherited dysfunction of a protein pump known as ABCG2.First identified by the Egyptians in 2640 BC, podagra (acute gout occurring in the first metatarsophalangeal joint) was later recognized by Hippocrates in the fifth century BC, who referred to it as 'the unwalkable disease'. When too much uric acid is produced however, it precipitates as urate crystals that slowly build up finally causing excruciating pain - surprisingly at the base of the big toe in about half of gout cases. Uric acid comes from the breakdown of purine we ingest from the food we eat, and is usually processed by our kidneys and then eliminated with our urine. Gout is an inflammation caused by the accumulation of needle-like crystals of uric acid deposited in joints, tendons or their surrounding tissues. ![]() However, as the excessive indulgence in over-rich foods has spread across a great part of the world, gout too has spread - and not only on a geographical scale but also throughout the various strata of human society. Throughout history, this particular form of arthrosis has been associated with the exaggerated consumption of rich foods and excessive alcohol, and consequently described as "arthritis of the rich" since, in the early days, only the higher classes of society seemed to suffer from it. Not too much of this, not too little of that. The reasoning behind ‘gout’ being associated with such terms lies in the inherent nature of gout as a disease and its causative factors. Hippocrates called it the 'unwalkable disease' since the pain was so acute, those suffering from it were unable to walk. Each level is a new adventure with tricky questions and new words to explore. You are in the right place if you are looking the answer for William Howard Taft was among history’s many sufferers of this painful joint disorder Hippocrates called the unwalkable disease Jeopardy. ![]() Health is really all a question of balance. In ancient times of 5th century, Hippocrates regarded as the father of medicine described gout as the the unwalkable disease. William Howard Taft was among history’s many sufferers of this painful joint disorder Hippocrates called the unwalkable disease Jeopardy. ![]()
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