Clinical and family studies in Hungarian patients with gout

In this study we examined 22 Hungarian male probands with gout and 105 of their first degree relatives. This was the first family study in Hungary in which the characteristics of distribution of gout and hyperuricaemia among patients with gout and their first degree relatives, as well as the possible correlation between the prevalence of the disease and MHC class I antigens was investigated. Our gout patients showed the following characteristics: (1) There was a typical onset after age 40, benign oligoarticular form of arthritis, underexcretion of uric acid, moderate hypertension without evidence of reduced renal function, and a relatively high frequency of hyperostosis. (2) The prevalence of hyperuricaemia and gout exceeded the general population level in the first degree relatives of our gout patients. (3) The distribution of MHC class I antigens among the first degree relatives of our patients with gout showed no characteristic patterns. (4) There was no correlation between HLA B27 antigens and prevalence of gout or hyperostosis in family sibling studies. (5) The high frequency of gout and hyperuricaemia, as well as the lack of characteristic HLA patterns among the first degree relatives of gout patients in our family studies, point to the possible cumulative effect of several genes and environmental factors in the etiopathogenesis of this disease.