Difficult choice: Parkinson's disease or gout and urolithiasis?

A high level of urates (uric acid salts) in the blood slows down the progression of Parkinson's disease, a large-scale study by American scientists has shown. In the future, drugs that increase the concentration of urates may find use in this disease, the journal Archives of Neurology reports.

Urates are normally found in blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid. These substances are powerful antioxidants that protect the body from harmful molecules – free radicals. At the same time, high levels of these salts are associated with diseases such as gout and urolithiasis.

Scientists led by Michael Schwarzschild from Massachusetts General Hospital followed 800 patients with newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease for two years. By the progression of the disease, they meant the transition of the disease to a stage requiring the appointment of medications. To assess the lesions of the brain structures that produce dopamine, patients were assigned a magnetic resonance examination.

It turned out that the participants with the highest levels of urates in the blood developed the disease more slowly. Prescribing medications was required for patients from this group two times less often than for patients with the lowest levels of urates. Brain scans showed that participants with a high concentration of urates had less damage to neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, Schwarzschild said.

In the near future, scientists plan to start testing inosine, which is an integral part of urates, in 90 patients with early stages of Parkinson's disease. To finance this research, the Michael Fox Foundation has allocated a $5.6 million grant.

Source: Elevated Urate Levels May Slow The Progression Of Parkinson's Disease – Science Daily, 04/15/2008

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Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru16.04.2008