The relation of serum uric acid levels with l-Dopa treatment and progression in patients with Parkinson’s disease

In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of the serum uric acid (UA) level with disease progression and l-Dopa treatment in PD (Parkinson’s disease) patients. Serum UA levels of 80 consecutive PD patients were measured and were matched according to age and sex with 80 healthy controls. The patients were divided into two subgroups according to the pharmaceutical treatment received. First group consisted of patients treated with l-Dopa and a dopamine agonist and the second group consisted of patients treated only with a dopamine agonist. The patients were divided into two other subgroups according to Hoehn and Yahr scale. First group consisted of patients at the first two stages and the second group included patients at the third and upper stages. PD patients were found to have significantly lower levels of serum UA than controls (p = 0.000). Serum UA levels were lower in the group under l-Dopa + dopamine agonist treatment and in patients at third and upper Hoehn and Yahr stages than the patients under only dopamine agonist treatment and in the patients at the first two stages (p = 0.000 and p = 0.000). Multivariate logistic regression showed that advanced stages (OR 0.65, CI 0.50–0.79, p = 0.000) and l-Dopa treatment (OR 1.08, CI 1.03–1.16, p = 0.001) were independently associated with low UA levels. Our study supports that there is an inverse relation between UA levels and l-Dopa treatment and PD stages, and high serum UA levels may decrease the oxidative stress taking part in the pathogenesis of PD.