Research sheds light on connection between uric acid and Parkinson's disease
USA: A study assessing whether uric acid (UA) causes Parkinson's Disease (PD) or contributes to its progression has shed more light on this correlation and provided clues to the pathogenesis and treatment of PD.
"We hope the evidence provided here will stimulate additional research to understand better the links between uric acid and Parkinson′s Disease," Fatemeh Seifar from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and colleagues wrote in their study published in Movement Disorders. "It remains important to elucidate these mechanisms because they provide new insight into PD's pathogenesis or novel treatment approaches."
Several studies have linked Parkinson′s Disease with low uric acid levels. Low uric acid has been linked with the risk of developing PD and its severity and progression. However, there has been no crisp understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying these relationships. The most commonly proposed mechanism is that uric acid is an antioxidant. Low uric acid is thought to predispose to oxidative stress, contributing to dopamine neuron degeneration that results in an initial appearance of Parkinson's Disease and its worsening over time. Many recent studies have questioned this explanation.
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