Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Serum uric acid level is associated with the prevalence but not with survival of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a Chinese population

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Metabolic Brain Disease Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Serum uric acid (UA) has anti-oxidative effect. To clarify the associations between UA and sporadic ALS (SALS) in Chinese population. A total of 512 SALS patients and 501 age- and gender- matched healthy controls were included, with fasting serum UA evaluated. The ALS functional rating scale-Revised was used to assess disease severity, and the mean change of ALSFRS-R per month (△ALS-FRS-R/m) to assess its progression. Four hundred forty-five patients were followed up. Survival and progression were estimated according to quartiles and gender-specific quartiles of UA. The mean age of SALS patients was 53.3 ± 11.7 years. UA level of SALS was significantly lower than controls (p = 0.001). Male SALS had higher UA than female (p = 0.001). The occurrence of SALS was increased in the lowest, second and third quartiles compared with the highest quartile (p = 0.001). In the gender-specific analysis, increased occurrence was found in the lowest and second quartiles compared with third and fourth quartiles in both males and females SALS (p f = 0.001 and p m < 0.05). No correlation was found between △ALS-FRS-R/m and UA (p > 0.05), nor between SALS survival and UA. SALS patients have low level of serum UA than controls. Low level of uric acid may be associated with increased occurrence of SALS in Chinese population. Uric acid level may not contribute to the survival or progression of SALS.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amaro S, Planas AM, Chamorro A (2008) Uric acid administration in patients with acute stroke: a novel approach to neuroprotection. Expert Rev Neurother 8(2):259–70. doi:10.1586/14737175.8.2.259

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ames BN, Cathcart R, Schwiers E, Hochstein P (1981) Uric acid provides an antioxidant defense in humans against oxidant- and radical-caused aging and cancer: a hypothesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 78(11):6858–62

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ascherio A, LeWitt PA, Xu K, Eberly S, Watts A, Matson WR et al (2009) Urate as a predictor of the rate of clinical decline in Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol 66(12):1460–8. doi:10.1001/archneurol.2009.247

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Auinger P, Kieburtz K, McDermott MP (2010) The relationship between uric acid levels and Huntington’s disease progression. Mov Disord 25(2):224–8. doi:10.1002/mds.22907

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barber SC, Mead RJ, Shaw PJ (2006) Oxidative stress in ALS: a mechanism of neurodegeneration and a therapeutic target. Biochim Biophys Acta 1762(11–12):1051–67. doi:10.1016/j.bbadis.2006.03.008

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bergeron C (1995) Oxidative stress: its role in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol Sci 129 Suppl:81–4

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bos MJ, Koudstaal PJ, Hofman A, Witteman JC, Breteler MM (2006) Uric acid is a risk factor for myocardial infarction and stroke: the Rotterdam study. Stroke 37(6):1503–7. doi:10.1161/01.STR.0000221716.55088.d4

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks BR (1994) El Escorial World Federation of Neurology criteria for the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Subcommittee on Motor Neuron Diseases/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis of the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Neuromuscular Diseases and the El Escorial “Clinical limits of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis” workshop contributors. J Neurol Sci 124 Suppl:96–107

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burke WJ (2007) Neuroprotective agents for clinical trials in ALS: systematic assessment. Neurology 68(9):709. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000258815.56062.43, author reply 710

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis SD (1974) Dissociation between results of in vitro and in vivo antibiotic susceptibility tests for some strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 5(3):281–8

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • de Lau LM, Koudstaal PJ, Hofman A, Breteler MM (2005) Serum uric acid levels and the risk of Parkinson disease. Ann Neurol 58(5):797–800. doi:10.1002/ana.20663

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Vera M, Rahman MM, Rankin J, Kopec J, Gao X, Choi H (2008) Gout and the risk of Parkinson’s disease: a cohort study. Arthritis Rheum 59(11):1549–54. doi:10.1002/art.24193

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Du Y, Chen CP, Tseng CY, Eisenberg Y, Firestein BL (2007) Astroglia-mediated effects of uric acid to protect spinal cord neurons from glutamate toxicity. Glia 55(5):463–72. doi:10.1002/glia.20472

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goodall EF, Morrison KE (2006) Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (motor neuron disease): proposed mechanisms and pathways to treatment. Expert Rev Mol Med 8(11):1–22. doi:10.1017/S1462399406010854

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayden MR, Tyagi SC (2004) Uric acid: a new look at an old risk marker for cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus: the urate redox shuttle. Nutr Metab (Lond) 1(1):10. doi:10.1186/1743-7075-1-10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irizarry MC, Raman R, Schwarzschild MA, Becerra LM, Thomas RG, Peterson RC et al (2009) Plasma urate and progression of mild cognitive impairment. Neurodegener Dis 6(1–2):23–8. doi:10.1159/000170883

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keizman D, Ish-Shalom M, Berliner S, Maimon N, Vered Y, Artamonov I et al (2009) Low uric acid levels in serum of patients with ALS: further evidence for oxidative stress? J Neurol Sci 285(1–2):95–9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kellinghaus C, Moddel G, Shigeto H, Ying Z, Jacobsson B, Gonzalez-Martinez J et al (2007) Dissociation between in vitro and in vivo epileptogenicity in a rat model of cortical dysplasia. Epileptic Disord 9(1):11–9. doi:10.1684/epd.2007.0061

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee JE, Song SK, Sohn YH, Lee PH (2011) Uric acid as a potential disease modifier in patients with multiple system atrophy. Mov Disord 26(8):1533–6. doi:10.1002/mds.23556

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pacher P, Beckman JS, Liaudet L (2007) Nitric oxide and peroxynitrite in health and disease. Physiol Rev 87(1):315–424. doi:10.1152/physrev.00029.2006

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paganoni S, Zhang M, Zarate AQ, Jaffa M, Yu H, Cudkowicz ME et al (2012) Uric acid levels predict survival in men with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol 259(9):1923–8. doi:10.1007/s00415-012-6440-7

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pinna A, Agen C, Di Paolo A, Innocenti F, Nardini D, Danesi R et al (1994) Dissociation between in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo cardiotoxicity of two new anthracyclines: 3′-deamino-3′-(2-methoxy-4-morpholinyl)doxorubicin and 4′-deoxy-4′-iodo-doxorubicin. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol 13(1):25–31

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds A, Laurie C, Mosley RL, Gendelman HE (2007) Oxidative stress and the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. Int Rev Neurobiol 82:297–325. doi:10.1016/S0074-7742(07)82016-2

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ringel SP, Murphy JR, Alderson MK, Bryan W, England JD, Miller RG et al (1993) The natural history of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurology 43(7):1316–22

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sayre LM, Perry G, Smith MA (2008) Oxidative stress and neurotoxicity. Chem Res Toxicol 21(1):172–88. doi:10.1021/tx700210j

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarzschild MA, Schwid SR, Marek K, Watts A, Lang AE, Oakes D et al (2008) Serum urate as a predictor of clinical and radiographic progression in Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol 65(6):716–23. doi:10.1001/archneur.2008.65.6.nct70003

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scott GS, Cuzzocrea S, Genovese T, Koprowski H, Hooper DC (2005) Uric acid protects against secondary damage after spinal cord injury. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 102(9):3483–8. doi:10.1073/pnas.0500307102

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weisskopf MG, O’Reilly EJ, Chen H, Schwarzschild MA, Ascherio A (2007) Plasma urate and risk of Parkinson’s disease. Am J Epidemiol 166:1696–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winquist A, Steenland K, Shankar A (2010) Higher serum uric acid associated with decreased Parkinson’s disease prevalence in a large community-based survey. Mov Disord 25:932–6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zoccolella S, Simone IL, Capozzo R, Tortelli R, Leo A, D’Errico E et al (2011) An exploratory study of serum urate levels in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol 258(2):238–43

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, SiChuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

    Zhenzhen Zheng, Xiaoyan Guo, Qianqian Wei, Wei Song, Bei Cao, Rui Huang, Ruwei Ou, Xueping Chen & Huifang Shang

Authors
  1. Zhenzhen Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiaoyan Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qianqian Wei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wei Song
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bei Cao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Rui Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Ruwei Ou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Xueping Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Huifang Shang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Huifang Shang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zheng, Z., Guo, X., Wei, Q. et al. Serum uric acid level is associated with the prevalence but not with survival of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a Chinese population. Metab Brain Dis 29, 771–775 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-014-9510-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-014-9510-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation