Gout drug might be helpful in reducing death risk

According to a recent study conducted at Section of Rheumatology and Clinical Epidemiology at Boston University School of Medicine and published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases states that scientist have discovered an all together a different use of the drug allopurinol helpful in reducing risk of death in hyperuricemic (gout) patients. This study has found that the benefit of allopurinol on the survival may over weigh the impact of the rare serious adverse effects. Gout is supposed to increase the risk of premature death. Allopurinol helps to control it. The lead author Maureen Dubreuil, MD, an instructor of medicine at BUSM explains, “We found that allopurinol initiation was associated with an 11 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with non-initiators in hyperuricemic patients, and a 19 percent lower risk of mortality in gout patients. These risk reductions were apparent from the first year and throughout the subsequent years of follow-up.”