- Gout is a condition
due to high uric acid level in blood.
- It commonly
manifests as painful great toe in adults.
- Gout is often
called "the rich man's disease".
- Gout usually
develops because of a rich diet, which includes meat and alcohol.
- It causes increased
concentration of uric acid in biological fluids. Uric acid is the final
breakdown of an organic nitrogenous base called purines.
- In gout, uric
acid crystals are deposited in joints, tendons, kidneys and other tissues,
where they cause inflammation and damage.
- Meats are high-purine
foods. As purines are metabolised, uric acid is formed.
- The kidney's
job is to secrete excess uric acid and it finds it difficult if alcohol
is also present. So the uric acid stays in the body.
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