Perhaps of interest:
I have several friends with the condition, we all share hypertension, so I have been concerned about developing it. Perhaps as mostly a wine drinker I will be spared. (Although I did have a guinness or three with me fish and chips yesterday.)
-E
Emery, As someone who has suffered with severe gouty arthritis for years, I can chime in on this one. I have been to specialists at the Mayo Clinic, The Cleveland Clinic, Ohio State Medical School and Duke University Medical School. All of them describe a very complex bio-chemical reaction that eventually involves the formation of uric acid crystals. They all urged me to stop drinking alcohol in any form due to it's dehyrading effects which causes a spike in serum uric acid levels. I've been gout free for about three years even though I still continue to consume wine on a daily basis and still have an occasional beer, or cocktail. I limit my intake of foods high in purines and take 300mg of Allopurinol every day and it works. Bi!!
This comes from a study recently published in The Lancet. It's mostly noteworthy for confirming conventional wisdom (that alcohol promotes/exacerbates the condition), although the exemption of wine from the list of offending drinks is gratifying.
Mark Lipton
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