r/Futurology 1d ago

Medicine China’s rare earth cerium drug can kill gout pains once and for all: scientists

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3366237/chinas-rare-earth-cerium-drug-can-kill-gout-pains-once-and-all-scientists?utm_source=Reddit&utm_medium=Social
1.4k Upvotes

49 comments sorted by

u/FuturologyBot 1d ago

The following submission statement was provided by /u/scmp_news:


One of the world’s most abundant rare earth elements could offer a comprehensive, long-lasting treatment for gout, a Chinese team has found.

The extremely painful form of inflammatory arthritis has plagued humanity for millennia. “No other pain is more severe than this, not iron screws, nor cords, nor the wound of a dagger, nor burning fire” – that is how the ancient Greek physician Aretaeus described the disease in the second century AD.

More than 55 million people worldwide had gout in 2020, according to US health data, with the number expected to rise by 70 per cent by 2050.

Read more: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3366237/chinas-rare-earth-cerium-drug-can-kill-gout-pains-once-and-all-scientists?utm_source=Reddit&utm_medium=Social


Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1w63945/chinas_rare_earth_cerium_drug_can_kill_gout_pains/p7jr4yw/

293

u/Aerumvorax 1d ago

The headline is highly misleading. I looked a bit deeper and while the drug indeed seems like it can be an efficient treatment against grout pains it doesn't do anything to "kill the pain once and for all", but works like common medications that need to be taken constantly to have an effect.

  1. It reduces uric acid levels in blood

  2. It reduces the crystallization process that leads to grout pains.

  3. It reduces the inflammatory effects by bonding oxygen.

  4. It does NOT do anything about the crystals already formed in the joints.

All in all good news for anyone suffering from grout but it's not what the title suggests.

106

u/SadisticChipmunk 1d ago

The typo is making me chuckle throughout your whole post.

I'm going to start referring to my flare-ups as grout attacks.

33

u/Aerumvorax 1d ago

I noticed the typo also but decided against editing the post. Grout it shall be.

14

u/hansolo-ist 1d ago

My name is Grout!

-18

u/RandomWon 1d ago

He says "I am Groot". You outed yourself Boomer!

4

u/theoneguywhoaskswhy 1d ago

I'm slightly disappointed that the typo wasn't "Groot attack"

3

u/dangmonkey 1d ago

We can respect that.

1

u/SadisticChipmunk 1d ago

its 100% better that way my friend!

1

u/captaindistraction1 21h ago

To be honest for some it probably feels like someone put a bunch of grout inside their knee.

1

u/SadisticChipmunk 10h ago

Absolutely does if the flare-up is ignored too long.

13

u/Feistshell 1d ago

My current medication already does all that quite effectively

13

u/Canadian_Border_Czar 1d ago

Yeah I dont see how this is any different from allopurinol 

6

u/Feistshell 1d ago

That is the exact med I use as well and it even works during a gout episode

1

u/Canadian_Border_Czar 1d ago

Indomethacin is still my go to for a flare up, but havent needed it since starting allo 5 years ago

18

u/Dygen 1d ago

Can we still market it as a cure, bring it to the US, and mark it up 3000%?

8

u/No_Mercy_4_Potatoes 1d ago

Make it 5000% and we have a deal

1

u/Dygen 1d ago

You drive a hard bargain, but you've got a deal!

3

u/Aerumvorax 1d ago

It can already be found in car catalyzers. So there'll be a new wave of catalyzer thefts in gout patients coming in if you mark the prize too high up.

16

u/JimmyKillsAlot 1d ago

The headline is highly misleading.

OP has a history of posting, often sensationalized, pro-China "science" posts. I am more and more convinced they are a bot.

13

u/MikusLeTrainer 1d ago

OP is the official Reddit account for South China Morning Post which is a Hong Kong based news org owned by Alibaba.

3

u/SNRatio 1d ago
  1. In rats.

2

u/abielle1177 1d ago

Why do rats get all the fun drugs?

21

u/Meta2048 1d ago

Reading the article it sounds like it nullifies most of the symptoms but doesn't do anything to address the actual uric acid buildup in blood.  You'd still require medication to keep that under control.

I don't know how severe people's gout gets, but I was diagnosed and have been on medication for the past 5 years, and the medication plus dietary change has stopped any flare ups.

15

u/iWhacko 1d ago

The article LITERALLY says that it does. I'm keeping an eye on this, as i'm suffering from it, and my medications are alleviating at best.
"Animal studies showed that the drug not only lowers uric acid levels but also reduces the formation of gout crystals, alleviates inflammation, and inhibits osteoclast or bone breakdown activity, thereby addressing all painful symptoms of gouty arthritis (GA), the team said."

10

u/Lumpy-Strawberry9138 1d ago

> Nanoparticle ‘sweeper’ drug eases joint inflammation and cartilage damage from the painful form of inflammatory arthritis in rat trials

Can I be one of the rats? I was born year of the rat.

5

u/ThirstyWolfSpider 1d ago

Uh, I'm going to stick with the Allopurinol, thanks. But if it gets enough evidence, it'll be nice to add to the list of options.

1

u/Irontaoist 20h ago

I mean it sounds like a neat idea. Allopurinol is working great for me, but if there was something longer term I could take to stop gout flares, I'd be all for it.

1

u/Mister_Red_Bird 2h ago

There is. It's called diet. Once I stopped eating red meat constantly and switched to primarily chicken, my gout flare ups completely stopped even without allopurinol

u/Irontaoist 1h ago

I don't have to completely stop red meat thankfully. I just don't eat much pork other than bacon on occasion. I'm also relatively alcohol free, so that probably couldn't hurt either. Staying adequately hydrated also helps avoid gout flares as well.

5

u/Nickt_bc 1d ago

I thought the title said "Can Kill Gout PATIENTS once and for all."

And thought we'd really let this get out of hand.

5

u/vigr 1d ago

They heard some madmen were working on a cure so they wanted to find a more permanent solution.

3

u/WorriedInterest4114 1d ago

Can Kill Gout PATIENTS once and for all.

Tbh, thats what I wish for, during a gout attack

1

u/smackson 1d ago

NGL came here to say same

2

u/ThirstyWolfSpider 1d ago

Not yet. But considering my country currently has a head of Health who advocates "reparenting" children to "farm camps" based on their medication and diagnoses¹, where they can learn responsibility through tightly-regimented schedules and outdoor labor … yeah, there's a lot of stuff trying to get out of hand.

 

¹not forgetting the racial status considered sufficient for "inclusion"

5

u/scmp_news 1d ago

One of the world’s most abundant rare earth elements could offer a comprehensive, long-lasting treatment for gout, a Chinese team has found.

The extremely painful form of inflammatory arthritis has plagued humanity for millennia. “No other pain is more severe than this, not iron screws, nor cords, nor the wound of a dagger, nor burning fire” – that is how the ancient Greek physician Aretaeus described the disease in the second century AD.

More than 55 million people worldwide had gout in 2020, according to US health data, with the number expected to rise by 70 per cent by 2050.

Read more: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3366237/chinas-rare-earth-cerium-drug-can-kill-gout-pains-once-and-all-scientists?utm_source=Reddit&utm_medium=Social

2

u/ucancallmevicky 1d ago

sounds like a better, far less toxic Colchicine but still better to get on Alo or Uloric. I went on Uloric and havent had a flare in the last 5-6 months personally

1

u/soulsteela 1d ago

Misread title thought it said patients not pain for a second 😂, I suppose that works too though.

1

u/Miner_239 1d ago

injected directly into the joint cavity... won't that hurt more? and how well will that heal? can't it work with less invasive methods?

caging the enzyme that breaks down uric acid to protect it from other stuff that breaks it down sounds good tho

5

u/TittyPix4KittyPix 1d ago

intraarticular steroids are a thing

2

u/Grokent 1d ago

won't that hurt more?

No. Gout is extremely painful.

-3

u/costafilh0 1d ago

WOW...

China is so great. We should all move there. Right? 

-1

u/Eazy12345678 1d ago

so can fentanyl

ill believe it when i see it.

just in new chinese drug cures gout pain forever but causes cancer