Researchers find additional families with gene linked to gout and kidn...( precise information. So Bleyer is t...),Health

So Bleyer is trying to get the word out to fellow nephrologists, to other physicians and the general public to look for the disease in people with gout.

Bleyer is also hoping that the discovery will lead to intensive research on how the defective gene leads to kidney failure, which isn't clear now. "We are hoping that this will lead to improved treatment."

He said that the Wake Forest team already has uncovered the disease in more than 40 members of a Western North Carolina family the initial group that has been traced back to 1785. The team has studied the family for more than six years.

"We are currently interested in studying individuals who developed gout before age 20, in those with severe gout, and in those who have a strong family history of gout, with gout both in a parent and child," he said. "We would like these individuals to call us at 336-716-4513."

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Contact: Robert Conn
rconn@wfubmc.edu
336-716-4587
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
16-Nov-2003