Massive data dive: could old gout drugs shield against Alzheimer's?
NCT ID NCT04746989
First seen Jun 27, 2026 ยท Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looked at health records from nearly 295,000 older adults with gout to see if two common gout medications, probenecid and allopurinol, affect the risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer's disease. The goal was to find out if one drug might be better at protecting the brain. Because this was a data analysis study, it did not involve new treatments or direct patient contact.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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294,878 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Feb 2021
- Finished
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Dec 2023
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
This study will involve a new user, parallel group, cohort study design comparing probenecid to allopurinol. The patients will be required to have continuous enrollment during the baseline period of 365 days before initiation of probenecid or allopurinol (cohort entry date). Follow-up for the outcome (incident dementia), begins the day after drug initiation for analyses 1, 3, and 4 and 180 days after drug initiation for analysis 2.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Please see https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1N3IVoirGdWS7OiKiOWWgPHhgsSxX7SWDIhpeeZ-Ft7c/edit?usp=sharing or Appendix A for full code and algorithm definitions. Medicare timeframe: 2007 to 2017 (end of data availability). Inclusion Criteria: * 1\. No prior use of urate-lowering agents, including probenecid and allopurinol anytime prior to cohort entry date * 2\. Enrollment in Medicare Part A, B, and D with no HMO coverage for 365 days prior to and including cohort entry date Exclusion Criteria: * 1\. Prior history of dementia measured anytime prior to cohort entry date * 2\. No prior history of gout recorded in the 365 days prior to cohort entry date * 3\. Prior history of nursing home admission in the 365 days prior to the cohort entry date
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02120, United States
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