Effect of atromid and its components on uric acid excretion and on gout.

In the early studies on atromid, which is ethyl p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid (clofibrate or C.P.I.B.) with androsterone, Thorp (1962) reported that, in monkeys, this preparation increased uric acid excretion in addition to lowering plasma lipids. Also Oliver (1962) reported that atromid lowered serum uric acid levels in patients with ischaemic heart disease. We therefore investigated its possible usefulness as a uricosuric agent. The acute effects of atromid and its components on urinary excretion of uric acid in man were studied first. C.P.I.B. alone was found to have at least as potent an effect on uric acid excretion as atromid. Experiments were then done to see if acetylsalicylic acid antagonized the effect of C.P.I.B., as it does the effects of probenecid (Yu and Gutman, 1959). Finally, the effect of long term administration of atromid on the serum uric acid levels of patients with gout is reported.