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Benzbromarone may be more effective and better tolerated than allopurinol for lowering uric acid levels in gout patients, Dutch investigators report in the January Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
Allopurinol is currently the drug of choice for long-term urate-lowering therapy, the authors explain, whereas benzbromarone is only recommended for patients with mild-to-moderate renal insufficiency.
Dr. M. K. Reinders from Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden and colleagues compared the efficacy and tolerability of allopurinol, benzbromarone, and probenecid in lowering urate levels in gout patients.
Primary therapy with allopurinol for 2 months was effective in normalizing serum urate levels with patient tolerance in only 20 out of 82 (24%) of cases, the authors report.
In contrast, 22 out of 24 (92%) of patients in the benzbromarone group and 20 out of 31 (65%) of patients in the probenecid group were treated successfully in terms of tolerance of study medication and attainment of target serum urate concentrations.
"It seems that benzbromarone is a highly efficacious oral serum urate-lowering drug that has been excessively withdrawn from the market," the researchers point out. "It may be preferable to reintroduce benzbromarone in the market instead of using the new, costly drugs that carry a risk for unknown adverse drug reactions."
"Worldwide, the treatment of gout may be more successful with better (restricted) availability of benzbromarone," they add.
Ann Rheum Dis 2009;68:51-56.
Benzbromarone may be more effective and better tolerated than allopurinol for lowering uric acid levels in gout patients, Dutch investigators report in the January Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.Allopurinol is currently the drug of choice for long-term urate-lowering therapy, the authors explain, whereas benzbromarone is only recommended for patients with mild-to-moderate renal insufficiency.
Dr. M. K. Reinders from Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden and colleagues compared the efficacy and tolerability of allopurinol, benzbromarone, and probenecid in lowering urate levels in gout patients.
Primary therapy with allopurinol for 2 months was effective in normalizing serum urate levels with patient tolerance in only 20 out of 82 (24%) of cases, the authors report.
In contrast, 22 out of 24 (92%) of patients in the benzbromarone group and 20 out of 31 (65%) of patients in the probenecid group were treated successfully in terms of tolerance of study medication and attainment of target serum urate concentrations.
"It seems that benzbromarone is a highly efficacious oral serum urate-lowering drug that has been excessively withdrawn from the market," the researchers point out. "It may be preferable to reintroduce benzbromarone in the market instead of using the new, costly drugs that carry a risk for unknown adverse drug reactions."
"Worldwide, the treatment of gout may be more successful with better (restricted) availability of benzbromarone," they add.
Ann Rheum Dis 2009;68:51-56.
Allopurinol is currently the drug of choice for long-term urate-lowering therapy, the authors explain, whereas benzbromarone is only recommended for patients with mild-to-moderate renal insufficiency.
Dr. M. K. Reinders from Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden and colleagues compared the efficacy and tolerability of allopurinol, benzbromarone, and probenecid in lowering urate levels in gout patients.
Primary therapy with allopurinol for 2 months was effective in normalizing serum urate levels with patient tolerance in only 20 out of 82 (24%) of cases, the authors report.
In contrast, 22 out of 24 (92%) of patients in the benzbromarone group and 20 out of 31 (65%) of patients in the probenecid group were treated successfully in terms of tolerance of study medication and attainment of target serum urate concentrations.