Elevated Uric Acid Levels in Gout may Lower Alzheimer Risk

A new study has revealed that people who suffer from gout may be less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. The same uric acid that can crystallize to cause gout, may offer protection against Alzheimer's with its antioxidant properties.

Researchers from the United States and Canada looked at the records of 3.7 million people over the age of 40-years in a British database of medical charts. They compared data on people with gout, and those without, who developed Alzheimer's disease in a followup period of about five years.

Only 309 new cases of Alzheimer's among 59,224 gout sufferers with an average age of 65 were identified in the study, while there were 1,942 cases among 238,805 non-sufferers. This amounted to a 24 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease for people with a history of gout, after considering differences in age, gender, body weight, lifestyle and health.

The study appears online in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Source: Medindia