Uric acid may increase the probability of severe osteoarthritis

The amount of uric acid in the joints can increase the likelihood of severe osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, according to researchers at Duke University, USA.

Osteoarthritis is a common cause of debilitating degeneration for which there is no drug that can slow or stop progression of the disease. The doctors can only treat symptoms associated with osteoarthritis and those with the disease are often subject to a lower quality of life.

"Finding a way to treat the degeneration of the joints of people with osteoarthritis would be a huge advance," said Virginia Byers Kraus, professor of medicine at Duke. "This research is a step towards the identification of uric acid as a risk factor for osteoarthritis."

The researchers studied 159 people who had osteoarthritis of the knee, but no history of gout, a form of arthritis caused by uric acid crystals in joints. They found that the severity of knee osteoarthritis is strongly correlated with the amount of acid.

The results showed that 39% of the population has levels of uric acid than normal. "In a population does not drop, the level of uric acid is a potential cause of inflammatory events in osteoarthritis and joint degeneration," said Kraus.

But there are many medications available to reduce uric acid. "So if we can decrease levels of uric acid in a patient with osteoarthritis, can slow the progression of osteoarthritis and cause a change in the course of the disease," said Kraus.

There are a lot of different markers for osteoarthritis, which are indicative of disease severity, according to Kraus. "This is probably a marker that is also a mediator of the disease process, not just a marker of the amount of disease you have," she said.

Kraus and his colleagues believe the uric acid may be a mediator of other types of disease such as chronic kidney disease and coronary artery disease.

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