Uric acid levels in sera from patients with multiple sclerosis

The levels of uric acid (UA), a natural peroxynitrite scavenger, were measu red in sera from 240 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 104 sex- and age-matched control patients with other neurological diseases (OND). The m ean serum UA concentration was lower in the MS than in the OND group, but t he difference did not reach the level of statistical significance (P=0.068) . However, the mean serum UA level from patients with active MS (202.6+67.1 mu mol/l) was significantly lower than that in inactive MS patients (226.5 +78.6 mu mol/l; P=0.046) and OND controls (P=0.007). We found a significant inverse correlation of serum UA concentration with female gender (P=0.0001 ), disease activity (P=0.012) and duration (P=0.017), and a trend towards a n inverse correlation with disability as assessed by EDSS score, which did not reach statistical significance (P=0.067). Finally, multivariate linear regression analyses showed that UA concentration was independently correlat ed with gender (P=0.0001), disease activity (P=0.014) and duration of the d isease (P=0.043) in MS patients. These findings suggest that serum UA might serve as a possible marker of disease activity in MS. They also provide su pport to the potential beneficial therapeutic effect of radical-scavenging substances in MS.