
There are four categories of medicines used for gout prevention:
- Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitors – which work to limit the production of uric acid
- Uricosurics – which work to increase the elimination of uric acid via the kidneys
- Uricolytics – which act as a substitute for the enzyme “uricase” which humans no longer have, that converts uric acid into allantoin so that it can be more easily excreted
What enzyme converts uric acid to allantoin?
Uricase is a hepatic enzyme that converts uric acid into allantoin, which is more easily excreted by the kidney because of its water-soluble compound.
Can allantoin be used as a carbon and nitrogen source?
Allantoin can be used by some fungi, bacteria, and plants as carbon and N source, and it has been suggested that allantoin or a derivative of the allantoin pathway may contribute to the fungal capability to provide N to the host plant (Larsen et al., 2011).
How does allopurinol work to lower uric acid?
Allopurinol is an uricostatic drug, which together with its major metabolite, oxypurinol, inhibits the enzyme xanthine oxidase needed in uric acid biosynthesis, thereby lowering uric acid levels in the blood. Uric acid is the end-product of purine metabolism.
How do uricolytic gout medications work?
Uricolytic gout medications are drugs that work by helping convert uric acid into allantoin. Allantoin results from the breakdown of uric acid, and is 5-10 times more soluble than uric acid. Thus, it is excreted more readily than uric acid through the urine, whic results in lower levels of uric acid in the blood.
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What drug decreases uric acid formation?
Allopurinol. Allopurinol is the first-line drug for urate-lowering therapy. It is a purine analogue which competitively inhibits xanthine oxidase, reducing the production of uric acid.
Does allantoin treat gout?
Convert uric acid KRYSTEXXA is the only gout treatment that controls chronic gout by changing uric acid into a water-soluble substance called allantoin that your body easily gets rid of through urine. Forty-two percent of patients kept their uric acid levels below 6 mg/dL for 6 months or more.
What enzyme breaks down uric acid?
uricaseIn many other mammals, however, there is an extra step in purine metabolism – the enzyme urate oxidase (or uricase) breaks down the uric acid into a soluble substance, allantoin.
How long has krystexxa been on the market?
KRYSTEXXA (kris-TEX-uh) has been helping patients for more than 10 years and is the first and only medication approved by the FDA to treat gout that has not been controlled by other medicines.
What is the new medication for gout?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Krystexxa (pegloticase) to treat the painful condition known as gout in adults who do not respond to or who cannot tolerate conventional therapy.
In which animal uric acid is further converted into allantoin?
Mammals oxidize the uric acid to allantoin, which further get converted into urea and then ammonia.
Which organ is responsible for uric acid?
Uric acid is synthesized mainly in the liver, intestines and the vascular endothelium as the end product of an exogenous pool of purines, and endogenously from damaged, dying and dead cells, whereby nucleic acids, adenine and guanine, are degraded into uric acid.
How is uric acid removed from the body?
Uric acid passes through the liver, and enters your bloodstream. Most of it is excreted (removed from your body) in your urine, or passes through your intestines to regulate "normal" levels.
What is a natural enzyme cleaner?
You can use a variety or mixture of citrus peels to make your homemade enzyme cleaner, including lemon, lime, grapefruit, and orange. It's important to use fresh citrus peels that aren't dried out or rotting. Dried peels won't contain enough citrus oil for cleaning, and rotten ones will cause the mixture to mold.
Does Medicare cover KRYSTEXXA?
Blue Medicare Medical Policies Krystexxa is considered medically necessary for the treatment of adult patients with chronic gout when specified medical criteria and guidelines are met. Added HCPCS code J2507 to Billing/Coding section. References added. Medical Director review 6/2020.
Is KRYSTEXXA FDA approved?
"Krystexxa is the first-ever and only treatment approved by the FDA for adult patients who suffer with chronic gout that is refractory to conventional therapy," Paul Hamelin, RPh, president of Savient Pharmaceuticals, says in a news release.
What are the side effects of KRYSTEXXA?
Common side effects of Krystexxa include:nausea.vomiting.sore throat.runny or stuffy nose.new gout flares.constipation.easy bruising, and.hives.
What enzyme converts uric acid into allantoin?
Rasburicase converts uric acid into allantoin, a highly soluble metabolite that is excreted by the kidneys (see the green line in Fig. 36.2 ). Unlike most other mammals, humans lack a functional urate oxidase enzyme because of a nonsense mutation in the genetic sequence. Rasburicase lowers serum uric acid levels quickly and has few adverse effects (see Fig. 36.1 ). 1,25,33 However, rasburicase is contraindicated in patients with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency because of the high risk of the development of methemoglobinemia and hemolytic anemia after administration of these agents, because of the breakdown of uric acid into hydrogen peroxide. 1
What organisms degrade purines to allantoin?
Most mammals and some plants degrade purines to allantoin (by means of xanthine oxidase and urate oxidase); other organisms degrade allantoin further to urea and glyoxylate. Urate oxidase is peroxisomal in both vertebrates and plants (e.g., Arabidopsis thaliana) but has been lost altogether in primates, making us susceptible to gout.
What enzyme is responsible for uric acid?
Uricase is a hepatic enzyme that converts uric acid into allantoin, which is more easily excreted by the kidney because of its water-soluble compound. In humans, a missense and frame shift mutation during evolution resulted in an inactivated gene encoding uricase . Thus, serum uric acid concentrations in humans are close to the solubility-threshold. When they exceed this threshold, urate precipitates in soft tissues can be formed as sodium urate crystals. These urate deposits can accumulate and cause clinical symptoms typical for gout, if there is no urate-lowering treatment administered.
What is the function of pegloticase?
Pegloticase is a recombinant mammalian uricase linked to polyethylene glycol (PEG). Pegloticase facilitates the conversion of UA into allantoin. The conversion of allantoin from UA generates hydrogen peroxide (H2 O 2) that is rapidly scavenged by erythrocytes. 119
What is a recombinant uricase?
is a recombinant uricase which converts urate into allantoin, a more soluble metabolite which is readily excreted renally. It rapidly and profoundly lowers serum uric acid concentration and is licensed for use in tumour lysis syndrome. It has also been used in small numbers of patients with gout, but antibody development limits its effectiveness with repeated infusions, as would be needed to treat chronic tophaceous gout. A pegylated uricase (pegloticase),20 which has a longer half-life and is less immunogenic, has shown promise in recent trials.
Which fatty acids require oxidation?
Some fatty acids (e.g., with a methyl group on the 3rd carbon) require α-oxidation before entering the β-oxidation spiral. An example is dietary phytanic acid (some of which is derived from chlorophyll). Peroxisomes are the unique site of this α-oxidation.
Is allantoin a carcinogen?
Allantoin is also added to sensitive skin moisturizers and hand sanitizers, and in topical formulations for the treatment of scars and keloids. It is carcinogenic and thus contraindicated in pregnancy and lactation, and can be fatal when orally consumed.
What organisms degrade purines to allantoin?
Most mammals and some plants degrade purines to allantoin (by means of xanthine oxidase and urate oxidase); other organisms degrade allantoin further to urea and glyoxylate. Urate oxidase is peroxisomal in both vertebrates and plants (e.g., Arabidopsis thaliana) but has been lost altogether in primates, making us susceptible to gout.
What is the drug used for gout?
Drugs Used in the Treatment of Gout. Uricase is a hepatic enzyme that converts uric acid into allantoin, which is more easily excreted by the kidney because of its water-soluble compound. In humans, a missense and frame shift mutation during evolution resulted in an inactivated gene encoding uricase .
What are purines in the body?
Purines are components of the nucleic acids that are found in the nucleus of plant and animal cells. All mammals are capable of synthesizing purines for tissue growth and maintenance. Purines are also obtained through the reuse of dietary or endogenous nuclear material. Nuclear material that is ingested and hydrolyzed contains purine bases that can be converted back into nucleotides to be used for growth and maintenance by the body. Normal cellular turnover and tissue maintenance, along with the digestion of excess dietary purines, results in purine catabolism. A primary end product of purine catabolism is uric acid. If the liver enzyme urate oxidase is present, uric acid is further degraded to form the compound allantoin. Uric acid that is not converted to allantoin is present in body tissues as its salt, monosodium urate.
What is Rasburicase used for?
Rasburicase, a recombinant urate oxidase enzyme that breaks down uric acid to hydrophilic allantoin and hydrogen peroxide, is approved by the various regulatory authorities for the prophylaxis and treatment of hyperuricemia during chemotherapy in adults and children with lymphoma, leukemia, and solid tumors . A pegylated form of urate oxidase, pegloticase is approved for the treatment of refractory gout. Both drugs are contraindicated for use in patients with known glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. G6PD is the enzyme that converts glucose-6-phosphate into 6-phosphogluconolactone, the first step of the pentose phosphate pathway, and at the same time, G6PD produces nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase (NADPH) from nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. G6PD is particularly important in erythrocytes, because it is the only available source of NADPH, which is required to protect erythrocytes from oxidative stress. Administration of rasburicase to G6PD-deficient patients can result in hemolytic anemia, methemoglobinemia and death [55]. Patients should therefore be tested for G6PD variants before the use of these drugs. Of course, evidence has also accumulated over many decades that G6PD deficiency can predispose a patient to hemolysis with a number of other drugs including primaquine, dapsone, and sulfonamides, and also with certain foods such as fava beans.
What is a recombinant uricase?
is a recombinant uricase which converts urate into allantoin, a more soluble metabolite which is readily excreted renally. It rapidly and profoundly lowers serum uric acid concentration and is licensed for use in tumour lysis syndrome. It has also been used in small numbers of patients with gout, but antibody development limits its effectiveness with repeated infusions, as would be needed to treat chronic tophaceous gout. A pegylated uricase (pegloticase),20 which has a longer half-life and is less immunogenic, has shown promise in recent trials.
What animals degrade purines?
Primates and Dalmatian dogs degrade their purines to uric acid, whereas other domestic animals convert urates to the more soluble allantoin. Pyrimidines are catabolized to simpler, water-soluble forms that re-enter metabolic pathways. Chronic overproduction or underutilization of PRPP can lead to excess purine nucleotide biosynthesis. Allopurinol is a suicide inhibitor of xanthine oxidase. Purine bases are usually salvaged through a one-step reaction with PRPP, while pyrimidine bases are usually salvaged through a two-step process involving the sequential action of a nucleoside phosphorylase and a nucleoside kinase. Although animals ingest polynucleotides, survival does not require their digestion, absorption, and utilization since ample amounts of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides can be synthesized de novo.
What is the role of allantoin in fungi?
Allantoin can be used by some fungi, bacteria, and plants as carbon and N source, and it has been suggested that allantoin or a derivative of the allantoin pathway may contribute to the fungal capability to provide N to the host plant (Larsen et al., 2011).
What is the name of the enzyme that oxidizes uric acid?
Pegloticase (Krystexxa) Pegylated uric acid–specific enzyme, which is a polyethylene glycol conjugate of recombinant uricase. Achieves its therapeutic effect by catalyzing oxidation of uric acid to allantoin, thereby lowering serum uric acid levels. Indicated for gout in adults refractory to conventional therapy (ie, ...
What is Rasburicase derived from?
Rasburicase (Elitek) A recombinant form (derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae -synthesized, Aspergillus flavus) of the enzyme urate oxidase, which oxidizes uric acid to allantoin. Indicated for treatment and prophylaxis of severe hyperuricemia associated with the treatment of malignancy. Hyperuricemia causes a precipitant in the kidneys, ...
What is the name of the drug that is used to treat gout?
The gout medicine “Pegloticase” was developed to overcome the immunogenic problems found with Rasburicase, using a process called “pegylation” which is the alteration of proteins by the addition of several chains of polyethylene glycol. Pegylation is a strategy to mask the antigenicity of foreign proteins and permit their administration as therapeutic agents.
What is the effect of uric acid on gout?
Uricosuric gout medications are drugs that increase the excretion of uric acid in the urine, instead of inhibiting its production (like the xanthine oxidase inhibitors described above). Uricosuric gout medicines lead to reduced levels of uric acid in blood. Although they are better tolerated (have fewer side effects) than xanthine oxidase inhibitors, they are also less effective.
How does probenecid work for gout?
The gout medicine “Probenecid” works by increasing the portion of uric acid that gets excreted in urine, versus the portion that gets retained in the blood. Let me explain: As the kidneys filter uric acid out of the blood, some percentage of it gets “reabsorbed” back into the blood. Probenecid limits the resorption of uric acid by interfering with the organic ion transporter (OAT) in the kidneys.
What is the best medicine for rheumatoid arthritis?
Anakinra is an “interleukin-1 receptor antagonist” drug that is normally prescribed for people with rheumatoid arthritis, in order to control inflammation and cartilage degradation. However, Anakinra has also been found to help relieve the painful inflammation associated with gout attacks.
What is the oldest gout medicine?
The gout medicine “Allopurinol” is the oldest and most widely used gout medication in the world today. It works in the body by mimicking hypoxanthine (a type of purine) because it has the exact same structure as hypoxanthine.
How does xanthine oxidase inhibitor work?
Xanthine oxidase inhibitors work by blocking an enzyme called “xanthine oxidase” which is responsible for the conversion of hypoxanthine into xanthine, and eventually into uric acid…causing a decrease in uric acid levels in your blood and urine. Basically these drugs work to minimize the conversion of purines into uric acid.
What is the name of the drug that blocks xanthine oxidase?
The gout medicine “Febuxostat” is a newer drug that works as a “non-purine selective inhibitor” of xanthine oxidase, which means it works by blocking the active receptor sites on the xanthine oxidase enzymes.
