Abstract
Although some readers of The Journal may find the September article by Torres, et al a challenge, we believe the effort to persevere will be well worth it. This is because the report nicely illustrates how the burgeoning field of analysis of common variants in gene sequences (polymorphisms), when combined with scrupulous attention to the clinical characteristics of affected patients, can simplify and extend understanding of complicated disease mechanisms and, potentially, contribute to more informed clinical evaluation and management decisions. The disease at issue here is gout, an inflammatory metabolic disorder afflicting over 8 million of the estimated 40 million hyperuricemic American adults.