Urate

Research Research discussion
1
Interesting scientific paper recently published:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3351394/

A good explanation of it (faster than I can type with one finger) is here:
http://www.sciencecodex.com/study_supports_urate_protection_against_parkinsons_disease_hints_at_novel_mechanism-92070

Looks very possible that urate can slow down PD.


An initial clinical trial to test that possibility (and safety of this approach)using Inosine (which is broken down to urate in the body) is described here:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00833690

Read the detailed description in that link.
2
interesting fact about the loss of urate production during the evolution of hominids. wonder why that happened!
tricky to get the balance between pd and gout. also the foods good for urate are not recommended (by some) for taking mao-b inhibators.
but presumably eating source food wouldn't make any difference anyway if the homeostasis (right word?) isnt working?
3
It is definitely interesting. However, there is a drawback of this inosine. You can get kidney stones (or something like that).
4
I'm checking I don't have mutations for gout by getting my SNPs done at 23 and me. It's a difficult choice.....slight possibility of gout, heart trouble or painful joints vs. 50% probability of dementia in 5 years....... Inosine is taken at 1g/day as a nutritional supplement with no headlining ill effects as far as I can see.....
5
but first one needs to find out if one doesnt have the right amount?
6
Turnip........do you mean the right therapeutic amount? That's not known yet. The clinical study is looking at 1 - 3 g/day. I suspect they have worked out that this will give an appropriate physiological concentration of urate in the brain in line with the levels used in the in vitro model.

Or do you mean the right safe level? Some work done in this respect reported no adverse effects of inosine at 2g/day:
http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0042-84500610879T
7
I was not clear - from my reading of the articles, there is a corellation between those pwp with low urate and progression but not between those pwp with normal urate levels, so there is no benefit if you have normal levels? So is it easy to get tested?
8
Turnip
Here are the 2 studies establishing the link between PD and urate:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18413464
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2391073/

When 804 subjects with early PD had their plasma urate measured the subjects in the top quintile (fifth) reached the end point (stage of development of PD) at only half the rate of subjects in the bottom quintile.

To give you an idea of the range of urate concentrations measured in coontrols vs PDcases I quote from the second study which retrospectively looked at plassma levels of 18000 men:
"Considering urate concentrations (all in mg/dL) of < 5, 5 to < 5.5, 5.5 to < 6, 6 to < 6.5, 6.5 to < 7, and 7 or higher the number of cases/controls were 22/27, 10/22, 19/30, 11/23, 10/20, and 12/43 in each of those ranges, respectively"

So, there is no normal urate level.......you just want to make sure you are at the higher end.As for measuring urate level,I intend to take no more inositol than commonly used as a nutritional supplement and to discuss it with my neurologist when next we meet.....
9
What happens if a person with high urate level takes inosine ? His level of urate will raise even more. Can this be unhealthy ?
10
A discussion of hyperuricemia is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperuricemia

Not wise to dose yourself with high levels of inosine,especially if you dont know what your blood level of uric acid is . Very high urate levels could lead to gout or kidney failure. If you dont suffer from gout and dont have kidney trouble then it seems to me the generally accepted dose of 1 gram/day as a nutritional supplement is safe.
11
Once again Bartobob, thank you for the interesting links. It will take me some time to absorb the information (I have never been noted for my speed of info acquisition)
12
Thanks annebernadette. More than 8000 papers and patents on Parkinson's have been published so far this year so I feel like I'm digging for treasure when I look through some of them........you never know what you are going to find.
13
Could you possibly find one that states unequivocally that eating a punnet of green grapes a day will prevent the onset of PD, and that eating 2 punnets of black grapes will cure it? I should be most grateful - I am very fond of grapes
14
Arguably...........but not unequivocally
The Chinese have found that grape extract prolongs the life of fruit flies with Parkinson's:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19929256

A search for the beneficial effect of whiskey on PD was unsuccessful.......
15
I do try to keep insisting that I am not a fruit fly.! Luckily for me I absolutely hate whisky. Even the smell of it makes me feel sick.