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Is Gout Good for the Brain?

November 17 2014 4:19 AM ET via RheumReports RheumReports

Uric acid is a powerful anti-oxidant with some studies suggesting that it may have a neuroprotective effect in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and multiple sclerosis. An inverse association has been reported between hyperuricemia and the risk of PD. Higher but still “relatively normal” urate levels were predictive of slower progression of PD (JAMA Neurology 2014). A Rotterdam study showed an 11% lower risk of dementia (any type) for each 1 standard deviation increase of serum uric acid (SUA) level. Higher SUA levels at baseline were associated with better cognitive function later in life for all cognitive domains studied. 

At the ACR 2014, Hyon Choi presented recent data (Abstract #827) evaluating the potential impact of gout on incident Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study derived data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) which is a UK database including EMR data from 11.1 million patients in 562 general practices. The study was performed from 1995 to 2013 with a mean follow-up period of 5 years. 

The incident rate of AD was 1.0 vs. 1.5 for those with gout compared to those without gout. 

This is the first population-based evidence for the potential protective effect of gout on the risk of AD and supports the purported neuroprotective effect of gout.


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Dr. Andy Thompson
Dr. Andy Thompson

Dr. Andy Thompson is an Associate Professor at Western University and founder of Rheuminfo.com, Rheumtalks.com, and RheumReports.com.

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