Short Term Probiotics May Help Treat Gout & Kidney Disease

Gout is a form of arthritis that is caused by a buildup of uric acid crystals around the joints that is produced by the body as it breaks down purines compounds; levels increase with gout, and hardened accumulations of the crystals can form under the skin around affected joints. Gout has been linked in several studies to chronic inflammation and obesity, both of which contribute to metabolic syndrome and increase the risk of diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.

"Gout is a dangerous and underdiagnosed disease. However, the definition of metabolic syndrome does not include gout, [although it is] a severe and common metabolic disorder leading to kidney failure," said Rostyslav Bubnov, Ph.D., of the Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and first author of the study. Bubnov's research team studied the effects of probiotic therapy on adults with obesity, gout and gout-related kidney disease. 

According to Bubnov, probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that replenish the "good" bacteria in the digestive tract; yogurt, fermented foods and certain dietary supplements contain probiotics, and research suggests that probiotics decrease inflammation in the body and improve poor sugar and uric acid metabolism that contribute to the development of gout.

Participants were prescribed two types of probiotics which were personalized to them based on their symptoms; standard minimum recommended dosage for probiotics was administered, and after 10 days of therapy the participant’s health improved to experience: lower blood pressure, weight loss, reduced abdominal fat and waist circumference, decreased lesion size and scar tissue on the kidneys, decreased tophi size, and normal uric acid and creatinine levels in their blood. 

"Short-term individualized probiotic therapy is effective to treat signs of metabolic syndrome and hyperuricemia and can successfully restore function and structure of the damaged kidney in gout."

According to Bubnov those with gout may be able to achieve these results by consuming yogurt or by taking a probiotic supplement, but effectiveness is likely to be greater using personalized approaches.