Researchers Find a Link Between Uric Acid and Mini Strokes

New research from Johns Hopkins shows that a higher than normal level of uric acid (UA) may be a cause of barely detectable mini strokes that have a potential to be a cause of mental decline in aging adults.

The study linked UA levels to higher volumes of white matter hyperintensities (WMH). These are small dead areas in the brain that happen when brain cells are deprived of oxygen. Lack of oxygen from clots or burst blood vessels in the brain are benchmarks of classic large strokes.

UA is known to play a big part in gout, where the buildup of the fatty acid is responsible for pain and disability in both the feet and toes. But, UA seems to play very contradictory roles in the brain.

On the one hand, UA is a very powerful antioxidant that might play a protective roll against developing Parkinson and Alzheimer disease. This could be because the antioxidants destroy the oxygen free radicals that can damage the brain tissue.

On the other hand, an elevated level of UA is associated with diabetes, obesity and heart disease. It is also known to be a risk factor for stroke. One reason that they believe may be an explanation of this is that like a double-edged sword, UA is beneficial, but it is the processes that lead to the production of UA can be harmful, under certain circumstances.

The study consisted of studying brain MRI scans of 85 men and 92 women between the ages of 20 and 92 years of age. All of them had normal levels of UA, but those who were at the high end of normal had 2.6 times the volume of WMH than those with average or low UA. With the subjects who were 60 or older, those with high normal levels of UA had four to five times the volume than the other subjects.

They state that measures like diet, exercise and drugs like allopurinol, which lower the levels of UA, could possibly help in reducing this risk, especially for those with additional risk factors - diabetes, obesity and hypertension -but they caution that it would be premature to try this now.

They are planing to do clinical trials with drugs like appopurinol, which has been used to combat gout for years to see if they can find out exactly what is going on.