Are gout and rheumatism the same? What is the relationship between the two?

Gout is a very common disease in recent years (this has a lot to do with our increasingly improved living standards). It is a metabolic disease caused by purine metabolism disorder, characterized by inflammatory changes in joints, connective tissues and kidneys. So what is the difference between gout and rheumatoid arthritis?

gout

Gout is almost always seen in men over 40 years old. It often presents with sudden attacks of severe pain at night, often as acute arthritis, which begins with redness, swelling, and pain, reaches its peak within 72 hours, disappears on its own in a week or two, and recurs several years later. When eating foods rich in purine, such as animal offal, sardines, yeast, tobacco, and alcohol, high uric acid accumulates in the blood and tissues, easily forming tophi, which are often seen around the toe joints, and can also form kidney stones.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by joint lesions. Although it is not a hereditary disease, it may be related to genetic factors and often occurs in women around 40 years old. Early symptoms are mostly joint pain, swelling, stiffness, and difficulty in movement, which may be mild or severe, recur repeatedly, and are difficult to heal, often leaving behind bone and joint ankylosis and deformity. It is a chronic and intractable disease with unclear etiology and is related to the combined effects of multiple factors. If not treated in time, almost all internal organs will be affected: destructive lesions may occur in all joints, causing the joints to gradually become deformed and stiff, the hands to become claw-shaped, with loss of function and even paralysis, bone and skeletal muscle atrophy, and are often accompanied by extra-articular symptoms. Laboratory tests may show a positive rheumatoid factor.

The treatment for both is different.

Gout symptoms are controlled by drugs that inhibit purine metabolism and promote uric acid excretion, such as colchicine. As time goes by, gout attacks repeatedly cause not only tissue damage but also erosion of the bone ends at the joints. Coupled with the deposition of tophi, the joints become chronically inflamed and deformed, which can easily be confused with rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, and its treatment mainly focuses on anti-inflammatory and immune regulation. Such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, biological agents such as tadalafil and levofloxacin, and traditional anti-rheumatic drugs such as methotrexate.