My husband has a severe case of gout - and he developed PD at the age of 40.
I question the results of this study.
---------
God bless
Mary Ann (CG Jamie 67/27 with PD)
www.bentwillowfarm.org

> High Blood Levels Of Urate Linked To Lower Risk Of Parkinson's Disease
> Updated: 6/21/2007 12:06:40 PM
> Science Daily - In a new, large-scale, prospective study exploring the
> link
> between levels of urate in the blood and risk of Parkinson's disease,
> researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found
> that
> high levels of urate are strongly associated with a reduced risk of the
> disease.
>
> Urate is a normal component of blood, and although high levels can lead to
> gout, urate might also have beneficial effects because it is a potent
> antioxidant. Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive nerve disorder
> associated with destruction of brain cells producing dopamine, a
> neurotransmitter essential to the normal functioning of the central
> nervous
> system.
> "This is the strongest evidence to date that urate may protect against
> Parkinson's disease," said lead author Marc Weisskopf, Assistant Professor
> of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology at HSPH.
> The researchers used the HSPH-based Health Professionals Follow-up Study,
> a
> population of male health professionals established in 1986, as the source
> for their data. The study cohort included more than 18,000 men without
> Parkinson's disease who had provided blood samples between 1993 and 1995
> and
> whose subsequent health status was followed.
> The researchers found that men in the top quartile of blood urate
> concentration had 55 percent lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease
> than men in the bottom quartile. This difference was not explained by
> differences in age or other risk factors for Parkinson's disease. The
> results of two previous studies had suggested a possible inverse relation
> between blood urate and risk of  Parkinson's disease, but it is only when
> the previous data were combined with those of this new study that the
> evidence became compelling.
> The authors hypothesize that urate's antioxidant properties may help
> dampen
> the effects of oxidative stress, which appears to contribute to the
> progressive loss of the dopamine-producing brain cells that occurs in
> individuals with Parkinson's disease. If so, elevating blood urate could
> be
> helpful for patients with Parkinson's disease, said Alberto Ascherio,
> Associate Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at HSPH and senior
> author
> of the study. To follow-up on this clue, Ascherio, along with co-author
> Michael Schwarzschild, a movement disorder specialist at Massachusetts
> General Hospital, and colleagues at the Parkinson Study Group, a
> collaborative group of Parkinson's disease researchers from the U.S. and
> Canada, accessed the databases of two large, randomized studies conducted
> among patients with early Parkinson's disease. The preliminary results,
> presented in abstract form at recent meetings, showed a slower progression
> of the disease among individuals with high blood urate.
> "It is still uncertain whether urate exerts a neuroprotective effect, but
> approaches to elevating urate levels are nonetheless worth considering as
> a
> potential neuroprotective strategy," said Ascherio, who is now
> collaborating
> with Schwarzschild and others in the design of a clinical trial in
> individuals with Parkinson's disease to examine this possibility. "But
> elevating blood urate increases the risk of kidney stones and may have
> adverse cardiovascular effects and should only be attempted in the context
> of a closely monitored randomized trial until beneficial effects are
> proven," he added.
> The study was supported by National Institutes of Health/National
> Institute
> of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Kinetics Foundation and the
> Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health/National
> Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
> The findings were published in The American Journal of Epidemiology.
> "Plasma
> Urate and Risk of Parkinson's Disease," M. G. Weisskopf, E. O'Reilly, H.
> Chen, M. A. Schwarzschild and A. Ascherio, American Journal of
> Epidemiology,
> published online June 20, 2007.
> Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Harvard
> School of Public Health.
>
> Read Original Article
> © 2007 Science Daily
>
> Rayilyn Brown
> Board Member AZNPF
> Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to:
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
> In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn

----------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn