Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates, such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is a product of the metabolic breakdown of purine nucleotides. High blood concentrations of uric acid can lead to gout and are associated with other medical conditions including diabetes and the formation of ammonium acid urate kidney stones.
Medicine
In human blood plasma, the reference range of uric acid is typically 3.4-7.2 mg/dL (200-430 µmol/L) for men (1 mg/dL=59.48 µmol/L), and 2.4-6.1 mg/dL for women (140-360 µmol/L). However, blood test results should always be interpreted using the range provided by the laboratory that performed the test. Uric acid concentrations in blood plasma above and below the normal range are known, respectively, as hyperuricemia and hypouricemia. Likewise, uric acid concentrations in urine above and below normal are known as hyperuricosuria and hypouricosuria. Such abnormal concentrations of uric acid are not medical conditions, but are associated with a variety of medical conditions.
High uric acid
High levels of uric acid is called hyperuricemia and can lead to gout.
Causes of high uric acid
Diet may be a factor. High intake of dietary purine, high-fructose corn syrup, and table sugar can cause increased levels of uric acid.
Serum uric acid can be elevated due to reduced excretion by the kidneys.
Fasting or rapid weight loss can temporarily elevate uric acid levels.
Certain drugs, such as thiazide diuretics, can increase uric acid levels in the blood by interfering with renal clearance.
Gout
Excess serum accumulation of uric acid in the blood can lead to a type of arthritis known as gout.This painful condition is the result of needle-like crystals of uric acid precipitating in joints, capillaries, skin, and other tissues.Kidney stones can also form through the process of formation and deposition of sodium urate microcrystals.
A study found that men who drink two or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day have an 85% higher chance of developing gout than those who drank such beverages infrequently.
Gout can occur where serum uric acid levels are as low as 6 mg/dL (~357 µmol/L), but an individual can have serum values as high as 9.6 mg/dL (~565 µmol/L) and not have gout.
One treatment for gout, in the 19th century, had been administration of lithium salts;lithium urate is more soluble. Today, inflammation during attacks is more commonly treated with NSAIDs, colchicine, or corticosteroids, and urate levels are managed with allopurinol. Allopurinol, developed over 30 years ago by Elion et al., weakly inhibits xanthine oxidase. It is an analog of hypoxanthine that is hydroxylated by xanthine oxidoreductase at the 2-position to give oxipurinol. Oxipurinol has been supposed to bind tightly to the reduced molybdenum ion in the enzyme and, thus, inhibits uric acid synthesis.
Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, an extremely rare inherited disorder, is also associated with very high serum uric acid levels. Spasticity, involuntary movement, and cognitive retardation as well as manifestations of gout are seen in cases of this syndrome.
Cardiovascular disease
Hyperuricemia may be associated with an increase in risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Type 2 diabetes
The association of high serum uric acid with insulin resistance has been known since the early part of the 20th century, but the hypothesis that high serum uric acid is a risk factor for diabetes has long been a matter of debate. In fact, hyperuricemia was presumed to be a consequence of insulin resistance rather than its precursor. However, a prospective follow-up study showed high serum uric acid is associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes, independent of obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension.
Metabolic syndrome
Hyperuricemia is associated with components of metabolic syndrome. A study has suggested fructose-induced hyperuricemia may play a pathogenic role in the metabolic syndrome.This is consistent with the increased consumption in recent decades of fructose-containing beverages (such as fruit juices and soft drinks sweetened with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup) and the epidemic of diabetes and obesity.
Uric acid stone formation
Saturation levels of uric acid in blood may result in one form of kidney stones when the urate crystallizes in the kidney. These uric acid stones are radiolucent and so do not appear on an abdominal plain X-ray, and thus their presence must be diagnosed by ultrasound for this reason or stone protocol CT. Very large stones may be detected on X-ray by their displacement of the surrounding kidney tissues.
Uric acid stones, which form in the absence of secondary causes such as chronic diarrhea, vigorous exercise, dehydration, and animal protein loading, are felt to be secondary to obesity and insulin resistance seen in metabolic syndrome. Increased dietary acid leads to increased endogenous acid production in the liver and muscles, which in turn leads to an increased acid load to the kidneys. This load is handled more poorly because of renal fat infiltration and insulin resistance, which are felt to impair ammonia excretion (a buffer). The urine is, therefore, quite acidic, and uric acid becomes insoluble, crystallizes and stones form. In addition, naturally present promoter and inhibitor factors may be affected. This explains the high prevalence of uric stones and unusually acidic urine seen in patients with type 2 diabetes. Uric acid crystals can also promote the formation of calcium oxalate stones, acting as "seed crystals" (heterogeneous nucleation).
Low Uric Acid
Causes of low uric acid
Low uric acid (hypouricemia) can have numerous causes.
Low dietary zinc intakes cause lower uric acid levels. This effect can be even more pronounced in women taking oral contraceptive medication.
Xanthine oxidase is an Fe-Mo enzyme, so people with Fe deficiency (the most common cause of anemia in young women) or Mo deficiency can experience hypouricemia.
Xanthine oxidase loses its function and gains ascorbase function when some of the Fe atoms in XO are replaced with Cu atoms. As such, people with high Cu/Fe can experience hypouricemia and vitamin C deficiency, resulting in oxidative damage. Since estrogen increases the half-life of Cu, women with very high estrogen levels and intense blood loss during menstruation are likely to have a high Cu/Fe and present with hypouricemia.
Sevelamer, a drug indicated for prevention of hyperphosphataemia in patients with chronic renal failure, can significantly reduce serum uric acid.
But the main cause of congenitally low uric acid, sometimes as low as zero, remains the Molybdenum cofactor deficiency.
Multiple sclerosis
Lower serum values of uric acid have been associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). MS patients have been found to have serum levels ~194 µmol/L, with patients in relapse averaging ~160 µmol/L and patients in remission averaging ~230 µmol/L. Serum uric acid in healthy controls was ~290 µmol/L.[45] Conversion factor: 1 mg/dL=59.48 µmol/L
A 1998 study completed a statistical analysis of 20 million patient records, comparing serum uric acid values in patients with gout and patients with multiple sclerosis. Almost no overlap between the groups was found.
Uric acid has been successfully used in the treatment and prevention of the animal (murine) model of MS. A 2006 study found elevation of serum uric acid values in multiple sclerosis patients, by oral supplementation with inosine, resulted in lower relapse rates, and no adverse effects.
Normalizing low uric acid
Correcting low or deficient zinc levels can help elevate serum uric acid.Inosine can be used to elevate uric acid levels.Zn inhibits Cu absorption, helping to reduce the high Cu/Fe in some people with hypouricemia. Fe supplements can ensure adequate Fe reserves (ferritin above 25 ng/dl), also correcting the high Cu/Fe.
Oxidative stress
Uric acid may be a marker of oxidative stress,and may have a potential therapeutic role as an antioxidant.On the other hand, like other strong reducing substances such as ascorbate, uric acid can also act as a prooxidant. Thus, it is unclear whether elevated levels of uric acid in diseases associated with oxidative stress such as stroke and atherosclerosis are a protective response or a primary cause.
For example, some researchers propose hyperuricemia-induced oxidative stress is a cause of metabolic syndrome.On the other hand, plasma uric acid levels correlate with longevity in primates and other mammals.This is presumably a function of urate's antioxidant properties.
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