Investigation of the Effects of Dimethyl Sulfoxide in Experimental Gout with Comparison of Dexamethasone and Indomethacin

Gout arthritis is an inflammatory arthritis characterized by increased serum uric acid and accumulation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in soft tissues. The treatment for gout arthritis is centered on reducing uric acid agents with long-term and anti-inflammatory agents during attack times. In recent studies, it is noteworthy that Indomethacin and Dexamethasone have positive effects in the treatment of gout. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a lipophilic solvent and has an anti-inflammatory effect at appropriate doses. Based on this information, for this study, the effects of these three agents were investigated in rats using a gut model to compare their efficacy. In the study, a total of 48 female 3–4-month rats were divided equally into 8 groups: Control, Indomethacin, DMSO, Dexamethasone, Gout, Gout+Indomethacin, Gout+DMSO, Gout +Dexamethasone. During the eight-week study, a gout arthritis model was used that included 10 mg MSU given intra-articularly in the right foot. Indomethacin 12.5 mg/kg intragastric, DMSO 0.1 ml intraperitoneally and dexamethasone 0.2 mg/kg were administered subcutaneously to the related groups once a day for seven days. At the end of the study, collected articular tissues were stained with haematoxylin and eosin after the fixation and decalcification processes were done. The findings obtained showed that inflammation was reduced in treatment groups compared to the Control groups (all p values 0.002). Also, synovial proliferation was remarkably decreased in the Gout+Dexamethasone group compared to the Gout group (p = 0.019). As a result of these findings, although the three agents all reduced inflammation in gout arthritis, DMSO was shown to be more advantageous due to its having fewer side-effects.