This photograph shows a right index finger and right foot that have been disfigured by gouty tophi bursting through the skin. This stage of gouty arthritis, referred to as tophaceous gout, should never occur if gout is managed properly. It happens after years of untreated high uric acid.

It is supplied by a contributor to the gout forum, who hopes it might prompt fellow gout sufferers into taking action before this happens. He also notes:

However, I am not bearing the whole blame by myself. I also blame the medical industry for not more rigorously cautioning, warning, treating me.

Time To Dissolve Uric Acid Crystals

Time required for disappearance of urate crystals from synovial fluid after successful hypouricaemic treatment relates to the duration of gout. Aug 2007. Pascual E, Sivera F. Gout study to find the time taken for urate crystals to disappear from gouty joints under uric acid lowering therapy.

Leave this page to browse the uric acid crystals in the Understanding Uric Acid Section

Urate Crystal Promoters & Albumin Inhibitor

Growth of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals: effect of cartilage and synovial fluid components on in vitro growth rates. Oct 1986. Burt HM, Dutt YC. This study shows that Chondroitin sulphate and phosphatidylcholine increased the growth rate of uric acid crystals whilst albumin significantly inhibited crystallization. The authors admit that further work is needed to isolate other factors.

Urate Crystal Promoter In Gouty Synovial Fluid

Evidence for a promoter of urate crystal formation in gouty synovial fluid. Aug 1991. McGill NW, Dieppe PA. This study shows that there is some component of joint fluid that promotes (or fails to inhibit) uric acid crystallization, irrespective of uric acid concentration. Further work is needed to identify what the component is.

Urate Crystals Gout

Studies of urate crystallisation in relation to gout. Aug 1983. Fiddis RW et al. Laboratory studies of uric acid crystals confirm that temperature increase improves uric acid solubility. They claim that crystals form very slowly, though dissolve quickly when concentrations fall. However, they conclude that much more real life investigation is required to understand how the crystallization process can be halted in the body as compared to the test tube.

Lower Uric Acid Gives Faster Gout Cure

Effect of Urate-Lowering Therapy on the Velocity of Size Reduction of Tophi in Chronic Gout. Aug 2002 Perez-Ruiz et al. This study of 63 gouty patients explodes the myth that a standard 300mg dose of allopurinol is adequate: “There is much more to the therapy of hyperuricemia than simply prescribing 300 mg/day of allopurinol. How much? As much as necessary to obtain low serum urate levels.” It shows that urate deposits will dissolve when uric acid is reduced below 7 mg/dL (0.42 mmol/L), but they dissolve about 4 times faster with urc acid levels below 4 mg/dL (0.24 mmol/L).

If you are taking allopurinol for gout, this shows how important it is to regularly discuss the right dosage with your doctor.