Due to the advancements in technology over the years, diseases are treated differently as they would have been thirty years ago. We have witnessed an increased on the reliance of medications in correcting abnormal functions in the body which cause diseases. Gout is no exception to this. Medications available to manage gout range from relieving gout pain to lowering uric acid levels in the body. As a result of researches on this field, more options are now available to gout sufferers. With these widened treatments options comes a higher chance of curing the disease ultimately.
One of the medications under the radar of most gout sufferers around the world is Rilantocept. It has been deemed as one of the promising medications that can actually rival Allopurinol, the standard uric acid lowering medication for gout. However, the Fedral Drug Authority or FDA has slammed Rilantocept due to safety issues. As mentioned on article on medpagetoday.com, the FDA disapproved the usage of Rilantocept as an adjunct medication in lowering blood levels of uric acid. The succeeding sections are excerpts from the said article.
An FDA advisory committee has voted 11-0 against recommending the approval of rilonacept (Arcalyst) for prevention of gout flares in patients beginning urate-lowering therapy. The panel expressed particular concerns about use of the drug in all patients beginning allopurinol treatment, noting that most clinicians would be likely to reserve rilonacept for patients with severe, tophaceous disease or for patients at high risk for adverse events with standard prophylaxis with colchicine or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
More data are needed looking specifically at results in patients who are unable to tolerate current therapies, have refractory disease, or are at high risk and need more aggressive treatment, said panelist John J. Cush, MD, of Baylor University in Dallas. Another common objection among the panel members was that treatment in the pivotal trials was given only for 16 weeks. “From a safety standpoint, 16 weeks is woefully inadequate,” said panelist Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, of Tufts University in Boston.
Rilantocept would have been another addition to the growing treatment option available to gout sufferers all around the world. It has all the potential of being an effective gout medication in addition to the ones already available in the market. However, the risks clearly outweighed the benefits. Like I’ve always said, it’s better to be safe than sorry. But gout sufferers like you should not worry. There are other gout management options you can observe other than taking medications. After all, healthy lifestyle changes coupled with the medications has been proven to be more effective than taking