However, different types of crystals are deposited in the two disorders.
Joint inflammation can become chronic and deforming after repeated attacks.
Almost 20 percent of the people who have gout develop kidney stones. Normally, some uric acid, a by-product of cell breakdown, is present in the blood because the body is continually breaking down cells and forming new ones and because familiar foods contain precursors of uric acid. The uric acid level becomes abnormally high when the kidneys can't eliminate enough in the urine. The body may also produce very large amounts of uric acid because of a hereditary enzyme abnormality or a disease such as blood cancer, in which cells multiply and are rapidly destroyed. Some types of kidney disease and certain drugs impair the kidneys' ability to eliminate uric acid.