Ellmann H, Bayat S, Araujo E, et al. - In this prospective study, researchers examined the impact of lifestyle measures and conventional urate-lowering therapy on monosodium urate (MSU) deposits in gout patients. According to the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria and presence of MSU deposits seen on dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) scans, gout patients received either lifestyle intervention or conventional urate-lowering therapy for a mean period of 18 months before a follow-up DECT scan. Baseline and follow-up DECT scans for all 83 individuals were available. In the overall population, the mean serum uric acid (UA) level reduced from 7.2 to 5.8 mg/dl. No change in MSU deposits or serum UA levels was noted in patients who stopped treatment. Such results indicate that lifestyle intervention and xanthine oxidase inhibitors significantly reduce the MSU deposit burden. Therefore, conventional gout therapy not only reduces serum UA levels but also decreases pathologic MSU deposits.