Uloric gout medicine might place patients at a higher risk of heart-related death than another gout medicine called allopurinol.

Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., which has a U.S. subsidiary in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, became the company to boast the first new gout medicine approved in 40 years when the FDA approved Uloric (febuxostat) in 2009.

Uloric, however, can cause possibly deadly heart side effects when combined with other drugs, including digoxin, Imuran, methadone and warfarin.

Uloric gout medicine has the same metabolizing enzyme as methadone. When the two drugs are mixed, the enzyme stays active for an extended, unintended length of time, which allegedly has led to a fatal overdose in one person.

Other possible problems of mixing Uloric with other drugs include bone marrow failure, kidney failure and excessive bleeding.

FDA Awaits Results of Uloric Gout Medicine Clinical Trial

According to the FDA’s website regarding the use of Uloric gout medicine in a clinical trial, “The primary outcome was a combination of heart-related death, non-deadly heart attack, non-deadly stroke, and a condition of inadequate blood supply to the heart requiring urgent surgery. The preliminary results show that overall, febuxostat did not increase the risk of these combined events compared to allopurinol. However, when the outcomes were evaluated separately, febuxostat showed an increased risk of heart-related deaths and death from all causes.”

A follow-up, post-market clinical trial of more than 6,000 people just concluded. The FDA will release those findings to the public once the analysis is complete.

Gout is Arthritis

Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis caused by the buildup of uric acid in the blood. When the acid crystallizes and settles into the joints, patients experience severe pain, tenderness, redness and swelling. The affected area might even feel warm, which when combined with the redness, can be mistaken for infection.

For unknown reasons, gout is becoming more prevalent in the U.S., including the Chicago area. According to the Arthritis Foundation, patients experience acute gout (or a gout attack), interval gout or chronic gout, explained as:

Acute Gout: A gout attack happens when uric acid levels spike, suddenly triggered by something such as a night of drinking alcohol.

Interval Gout: Low-level inflammation remains in between gout attacks, possibly damaging joints without any revealing symptoms.

Chronic Gout: Constant gout means the uric acid levels remain high, which can lead to joint damage and a loss of mobility.

Four percent of American adults suffer from gout, but men are more apt to experience the arthritis more than women. In fact, current estimates are that six million men and two million women experience some form of gout.

In order for individuals to avoid gout, they are encouraged to limit themselves to no more than two liquor drinks or two beers a day, reduce consumption of red meat and shellfish, and maintain a normal weight.

If you have experienced gout attacks and have taken Uloric gout medicine that caused heart-related or other adverse effects, you could benefit from speaking with a lawyer regarding your legal options.