Study on serum level of uric acid and on its relation with cognition function in elderly patients with Parkinson's disease / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the relationship between uric acid (UA) level and cognitive function in elderly patients with Parkinson,s disease (PD) and analyze the cognition related factors.Methods The clinical data of 60 elderly PD cases in our hospital from 2001 to 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. The 60 healthy people receiving medical examination in our hospital and matched by gender and age, were as control group. The information including gender, age, illness duration, Hoehn & Yahr stage (H-Y stage), serum UA level and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale were recorded. Results The serum UA level was significantly lower in PD group than in control group [(262±53) μmol/L vs. (332±45) μmol/L, t=-6.724, P＜0.001]. In PD group, the serum UA level was slightly higher in males than in females [(271 ±48) μmol/L vs.(254±39) μmol/L, t=3. 282, P=0. 058]. The serum UA level was significantly lower in male PD patients than in male controls [(353± 62) μmol/L, t=- 5. 625, P＜0. 001], and was lower in female PD patients than in female controls [( 294 ± 59) μmol/L, t = - 4. 721, P = 0. 012]. There were no significant differences in serum UA level among different H-Y stage subgroups (P＞0. 05), but the serum UA level was lower in different H-Y stage subgroups than in control group (F=22. 039, P＜0. 01 ). There was no correlation between the UA level and the illness duration (r=0. 961, P＞0.05).The MMSE score had significant difference between elderly PD group and control group (t= -3. 168,P＜0. 001). In PD patients, the MMSE score was positively correlated with serum UA level (r=0. 789, P= 0. 000), and was negatively correlated with H-Y stage (r= - 0. 577, P = 0. 019 ), age (r= -0. 333, P=0. 034), but was not correlated with illness duration (r= -0. 333, P=0. 207) and BMI (t=- 0. 410, P= 0. 115). Conclusions The level of serum UA is lower in elderly patients with PD than in normal controls. There is correlation between the serum UA level and cognitive impairment. Lower serum UA level predicts worse cognitive scores.