ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the evidence for the association between high levels of blood uric acid and various diseases. Uric acid and lactic acid are compounds produced in the course of normal metabolic processes in mammalian tissues. Uric acid is the end product of the catabolism of purine nucleotides in humans and higher primates. The incidence of elevated blood uric acid in patients with coronary heart disease has been found to be alarmingly high. A positive association between the levels of serum uric acid and of blood triglycerides and/or cholesterol has been reported in a number of studies. In a study in which the changes in serum uric acid and serum cholesterol were monitored for 6 to 10 weeks in 14 patients with coronary vascular disease, the serum values were found to be positively correlated. It appears that serum uric acid is more closely correlated with blood triglyceride levels than with blood cholesterol.
