Serum uric acid and gout: from the past to molecular biology.

OBJECTIVES

This review will briefly present the epidemiology and risk factors of gout, with a focus on recent advances.

METHODS

Key papers for inclusion were identified by a PubMed search, and articles were selected according to their relevance for the topic, according to authors' judgment.

RESULTS AND

CONCLUSIONS

Gout therapy has remained very much unchanged for the last 50 years, but recently we have seen the approval of another gout treatment: the xanthine oxidase inhibitor febuxostat, and several new drugs are now in the late stages of clinical testing. Together with our enhanced level of understanding of the pathophysiology of the inflammatory process involved, we are entering a new era for the treatment of gout.