Pegloticase to treat chronic gout that does not respond to conventional drugs

Gout is the most frequent cause of inflammatory arthritis worldwide. It results from high levels of urate and urate crystals being deposited in joints and other tissues.

Many people with gout respond well to conventional agents. But others are not as lucky and for them, pegloticase is an option, experts outline in Seminars in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Pegloticase is a drug that profoundly lowers urate levels and crystals, reduces tender and swollen joint counts, decreases pain, and improves quality of life. It also brings down blood pressure.

It isn’t perfect, however, as pegloticase can cause an immune response, resulting in anti-drug antibodies that increase drug clearance so they don’t work as well.

But there are ways around this, the experts highlight, suggesting that “these reactions can be avoided by stopping pegloticase when there is a loss of serum urate lowering.”

Click here to read the original research. 

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