Nucleotide metabolism: purine and pyrimidine synthesis, gout
Biochemistry · MBBS
DNA double helix
Interactive 3DThe twisted ladder of life — A–T and G–C base pairs winding 10 per turn.
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Study notes
A 55-year-old wakes at 2 AM with a red, hot, exquisitely painful big toe. This is gout — podagra: uric acid (purine breakdown's end product) crystallized in the joint, and neutrophils attacking the crystals cause the violent inflammation. Triggers: beer, red meat, dehydration, diuretics. Acute attacks yield to colchicine/NSAIDs; long-term, allopurinol (blocks xanthine oxidase) keeps uric acid low. Chronic gout deposits tophi (chalky lumps) and stones — the crystal chemistry of overindulgence.
Related topics
- Biomolecules: carbohydrates — structure and classification
- Biomolecules: lipids — structure, classification, lipoproteins
- Biomolecules: proteins — structure, classification, amino acids
- Biomolecules: nucleotides, nucleic acids, DNA structure
- Enzymes: kinetics, inhibition, regulation, clinical enzymology
- Bioenergetics: electron transport chain, oxidative phosphorylation