Urate Deposition in Man and its Clinical Consequences

This reference work explores current knowledge about hyperuricemia and its clinical consequences. The text aims to provide medical practitioners with necessary data in order to determine when therapeutic intervention is indicated and to estimate the risk of patients' susceptibility.

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One person in four in the industrialized countries suffers from hyperuricemia and is therefore at risk of developing gouty arthritis, nephrolithiasis, or any of the other consequences of urate deposition. At present, little is known about urate deposition and the mechanisms by which it occurs, as well as its clinical consequences. These include the formation of tophi over the helix of the ear or in bones close to joints that have never exhibited an attack, the development of bursitis, chronic tendovaginitis leading to carpal tunnel syndrome, and gouty paraplegia. Information on these matters is needed to estimate the risks of hyperuricemia and to determine when therapeutic intervention is indicated. This volume, the result of an international symposium, is an attempt to provide practitioners with data that will enable them to estimate the risk of individual patients' susceptibility to diseases such as gouty arthritis and nephrolithiasis.