Is there anything good in uric acid?

Abstract

High uric acid (UA) levels can cause gout, urolithiasis and acute and chronic nephropathy, all of which are due to the deposit of urate crystals. There is also increasing evidence of relationships of hyperuricemia with other important disorders, including hypertension, chronic renal disease, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, as well as an increased mortality, although a causal relationship between these conditions has not been clearly established. On the other hand, low UA levels are not known to cause any disorder or disease. However, in the last few years a higher prevalence and progression of some neurological diseases have been associated with a low UA, and it is possible that they may predispose to some other disorders, mainly due to the decrease in its antioxidant activity. In this article, the known negative effects of UA are reviewed, as well as the much less-known possible positive actions, and their therapeutic implications.