Biochemia Medica, Vol. 22 No. 1, 2012.
Review article
Uric acid as one of the important factors in multifactorial disorders – facts and controversies
Daria Pasalic
orcid.org/0000-0002-5741-6168
; Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Clinical Chemistry, University of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Natalija Marinkovic
; Quintiles Zagreb Ltd., Zagreb, Croatia
Lana Feher-Turkovic
; Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Clinical Chemistry, University of Applied Health Studies, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
With considering serum concentration of the uric acid in humans we are observing hyperuricemia and possible gout development. Many epidemiological studies have shown the relationship between the uric acid and different disorders such are obesity, metabolic syndrome, hypertension and coronary artery disease. Clinicians and investigators recognized serum uric acid concentration as very impor-tant diagnostic and prognostic factor of many multifactorial disorders. This review presented few clini-cal conditions which are not directly related to uric acid, but the concentrations of uric acid might have a great impact in observing, monitoring, prognosis and therapy of such disorders. Uric acid is recogni-zed as a marker of oxidative stress. Production of the uric acid includes enzyme xanthine oxidase which is involved in producing of radical-oxigen species (ROS). As by-products ROS have a signifi-cant role in the increased vascular oxidative stress and might be involved in atherogenesis. Uric acid may inhibit endothelial function by inhibition of nitric oxide-function under conditions of oxidative stress. Down regulation of nitric oxide and induction of endothelial dysfunction might also be involved in pathogenesis of hypertension. The most important and well evidenced is possible predictive role of uric acid in predicting short-term outcome (mortality) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and stroke. Nephrolithiasis of uric acid origin is significantly more common among patients with the meta-bolic syndrome and obesity. On contrary to this, uric acid also acts is an ‘‘antioxidant’’, a free radical scavenger and a chelator of transitional metal ions which are converted to poorly reactive forms.
Keywords
atherosclerosis; hypertension; hyperuricemia; metabolic syndrome; uric acid
Hrčak ID:
77389
URI
Publication date:
15.2.2012.
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