A Mathematical Study to Gout Symptoms

Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by sharp pain and severe swelling. Gout is known as the disease of kings since it its strongly associated with a diet rich in fructose and beer. Gout has a substantial effect on physical function, productivity, quality of life, and health care costs. It often causes severe pain and physical disability. Furthermore, Gout has no cure and it can lead to death. Gout is common in most countries in North America, Western Europe and Asia. More than eight million people in the U.S., almost 4% of the population, are estimated to suffer from gout. Gout is caused by the chronic elevation of uric acid levels in the blood. Recent studies suggest that a high uric acid concentration is the result of a dynamical process that highlights the interactions between leptin production, insulin resistance, low muscle mass and a diet rich in fructose. Once individuals develop hyperuricemia or reach a high uric acid concentration greater than 7 mg/dL for men and 6 mg/dL for women, they become susceptible to developing gout. We propose a novel dynamic system to analyze and determine the connections between a diet involving different levels of fructose (in both adult men and women in the U.S.) and the concentration of uric acid in the blood. Our model simulations suggest that adult males under a diet containing levels of fructose stimulating a 0.5 uric acid growth rate, could surpass the high uric acid concentration threshold after around 10000 days, while women pass the threshold in about 5000 days with a diet stimulating a 0.4 growth rate.