- FRIDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) — He's a 15-year veteran of the
National Basketball Association, a four-time NBA All-Star, and head coach
of the Philadelphia 76ers. He's basketball great Maurice Cheeks.

And he's got gout.

“I had no idea what gout was,” Cheeks said, describing his first
encounter — at the age of 46 — with the often-debilitating arthritic
condition. “Never heard of it. Never talked to anyone about it, and then I
started to find out that there were many other people with this
condition.”

Cheeks made his remarks at a press conference Thursday in New York City
to mark the second annual National Gout Awareness Day, sponsored by the
Gout & Uric Acid Education Society (GUAES). The goal is to draw
attention to the risks, symptoms, and treatments associated with a
condition that strikes between three million and five million adult
Americans, and to debunk stereotypes about the so-called “disease of
kings.”

According to GUAES, gouty arthritis results from a condition known as
hyperuricemia — the build-up of abnormally high levels of uric acid in
the blood. A normal waste product that forms from the breakdown of purines
found in cells and a wide range of foods, uric acid is usually dissolved
in the blood, passed through the kidney, and excreted through urine.

But in excess amounts, sodium urate can crystallize. In some cases, the
resulting needle-like formations lodge and jab into joints, bringing about
sudden and painful bouts of tenderness, redness, stiffness, and swelling
in the big toe, instep, ankle, heel, knee, wrist, finger, or elbow.

People typically describe the pain as akin to the trauma of childbirth
or breaking a bone.

“I don't think I can adequately express the pain,” Cheeks said.

“I once had a severe ankle sprain, and in order for me to play, they
had to wrap it and wrap it and wrap it, because any time I put my foot
down, I was not able to play,” he added. “But the game was so important.
So I played, even though that was probably my worst pain ever. And
that pain doesn't even compare to gout.”

In February, Cheeks' fourth acute attack of gout triggered inflammation
so severe he had to coach several 76ers games with one shoe on and one
shoe off. For many people, an attack can turn the mere act of standing and
walking into an unmanageable ordeal.

Today, gout is the most common form of arthritis among men over 40.
Women also suffer from the condition, but typically after menopause,
according to GUAES.

Obesity and the excessive consumption of purine-rich foods — such as
meats, shellfish, and hard liquor and beer — have long been associated
with a risk for gout. And portly figures of history, such as Henry VIII,
Benjamin Franklin and Isaac Newton — all suffered from gout, popularizing
the view that it's an illness of the privileged and out-of-shape.

“But [Maurice Cheeks] defies the stereotypes,” said Dr. N. Lawrence
Edwards, chairman of GUAES, and vice chair of the department of medicine
at the University of Florida, who spoke at the press conference.

While diet does play some role in who get gout, genetics is a major
factor, with one in four people having a family history of gout, Edwards
said.

“There is an assumption that this is a self-inflicted disease,” noted
Edwards. “That's the stereotype out there. But clearly Coach Cheeks
represents none of this. It's an equal opportunity employer. It affects
all strata of society.”

Edwards agreed that lifestyle changes, such as keeping in shape and
watching one's diet, could help somewhat reduce — though probably not
eliminate — the risk for acute attacks among people with high levels of
uric acid.

He stressed the importance of seeing a doctor and getting a uric acid
reading for those who've experienced an attack — with the aim of getting
the serum acid level below the danger point of 6.8 mg/dL. And for many
patients hovering above the cut-off, effective medications may be the most
effective way to fight back, he said.

“If any of you ever had [gout], you would know you would try to do
everything possible to try and prevent it,” Cheeks said with a wry smile.
“Because once it's full-blown, there's not a whole lot you can do.”

More information

To learn more, visit the Gout & Uric Acid Education Society.