What causes elevated uric acid?

Uric acid refers to the metabolism of purine. When uric acid is high, it means that the metabolism of purine is disordered. This is a metabolic disease. The most common disease is gout, which is very harmful to patients. In order to carry out good treatment in time, we should also understand the reasons for the increase in uric acid and then adjust the symptoms, especially in terms of diet. Let us understand what the increase in uric acid indicates?

What causes elevated uric acid?

1. Disorders of purine metabolism in the body

1. Excessive intake of exogenous purine: High uric acid content is proportional to the purine content in food. 50% of RNA and 25% of DNA in the food consumed are excreted in the urine in the form of uric acid. Strictly limiting purine intake can reduce serum uric acid levels to 60 μmol/L (1.0 mg/dL) and urinary uric acid secretion to 1.2 mmol/d (200 mg/d). 2. Excessive production of endogenous purine: Endogenous purine metabolism disorders are more important than exogenous factors. The de novo synthesis of purine from non-cyclic to cyclic forms requires 11 steps, during which abnormalities in the enzymes can lead to excessive purine synthesis. The ones that have been discovered are:

2. Abnormal kidney function in processing uric acid.

In patients with hyperuricemia and gout, when given different uric acid loads, the ratio of urate clearance to glomerular filtration rate is lower than that in normal people. The decrease in uric acid secretion may be related to a decrease in glomerular filtration rate, decreased tubular secretion, or tubular reabsorption. Although high uric acid levels are always present in chronic kidney disease, the relationship between uric acid concentration and serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen is still unclear.

3. Two factors exist at the same time

Such as patients with glucose 6-phosphatase deficiency and hereditary lactose intolerance. Alcohol can also cause uric acid retention in two ways. Excessive alcohol intake accelerates the liver's degradation of ATP and increases the production of uric acid. The uric acid caused by alcohol also prevents the excretion of uric acid. Alcoholic beverages high in purines, such as beer, are also a significant factor.

4. Other external factors

For example, allopurinol tablets are a drug that inhibits the synthesis of uric acid. Allopurinol and its metabolite oxypurinol can inhibit xanthine oxidase, preventing hypoxanthine and xanthine from being metabolized into uric acid, thereby reducing the production of uric acid; for example, weather changes, as the temperature rises, the solubility of uric acid will increase accordingly, and conversely, a decrease in temperature will cause urate to precipitate in the form of crystals, which will also affect the uric acid concentration. Learn more about the causes of high uric acid.