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Urate in Parkinson’s Disease: More Than a Biomarker?

  • Movement Disorders (SA Factor, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with characteristic motor manifestations. Although appreciation of PD as a multisystem disorder has grown, loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra remains a pathological and neurochemical hallmark, accounting for the substantial symptomatic benefits of dopamine replacement therapies. However, currently no treatment has been shown to prevent or forestall the progression of the disease in spite of tremendous efforts. Among multiple environmental and genetic factors that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of PD, oxidative stress is proposed to play a critical role. A recent confluence of clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory evidence identified urate, an antioxidant and end product of purine metabolism, as not only a molecular predictor for both reduced risk and favorable progression of PD but also a potential neuroprotectant for the treatment of PD. This review summarizes recent findings on urate in PD and their clinical implications.

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Acknowledgment

This paper is supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke grant K24NS060991 and the US Department of Defense grant W81XWH-11-1-0150.

Disclosure

Conflicts of interest: X. Chen: is employed by Massachusetts General Hospital; G. Wu: is employed by Suzhou Municipal Hospital; M.A. Schwarzschild: has been a consultant for Harvard University; is employed by Massachusetts General Hospital; has received payment for lectures including service on speakers bureaus from Emory University; has received = travel/accommodations/meeting expenses unrelated to activities listed from Emory University, Columbia University.

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  1. Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 114 16th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA

    Xiqun Chen, Guanhui Wu & Michael A. Schwarzschild

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  1. Xiqun Chen
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Correspondence to Xiqun Chen.

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Chen, X., Wu, G. & Schwarzschild, M.A. Urate in Parkinson’s Disease: More Than a Biomarker?. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 12, 367–375 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-012-0282-7

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