High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the investigation of gout in paleopathology.
Swinson, D.J. Snaith, J. Buckberry, Jo Brickley, M.B.
Swinson, D.J.
Snaith, J.
Buckberry, Jo
Brickley, M.B.
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2010
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Abstract
Gout is a disease caused by the abnormal accumulation of uric acid in the body, which can
result in sodium urate crystals forming tophi at joints, with associated erosion of bone and
cartilage. Only two examples of tophi have been reported from archaeological individuals, and
the diagnosis of gout based on dry bone manifestations can be difficult. This paper presents
preliminary results of a new technique to aid the diagnosis of gout in palaeopathology, namely
high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Five archaeological skeletons with suspected
gout (diagnosed using visual and radiological analysis) and three controls were
analysed. Two of the gouty individuals had a white powder in their erosive lesions. HPLC
showed the presence of uric acid in bone in four of the five individuals with evidence of gouty
arthritis and was negative for uric acid in bone from the three controls. The white powder was
also positive for uric acid. With reliance on the presence of articular erosions, cases of gout will
be missed in archaeological human bone. HPLC measurement of uric acid could prove useful
in the differential diagnosis of erosive arthropathy in archaeology. It may also be useful in
identifying individuals with an increased body pool of uric acid, linked to conditions included in
the term `metabolic syndrome¿. As a result, HPLC uric acid measurement also has the potential
to provide additional information on health and lifestyle in past communities.
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Swinson, D., Snaith, J., Buckberry, J. and Brickley, M. (2010). High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the investigation of gout in palaeopathology. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. Vol. 20, pp. 135¿143.
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