Serum uric acid levels and cerebral microbleeds in patients with acute ischemic stroke

PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e55210. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055210. Epub 2013 Jan 25.

Abstract

Unlike experimental studies indicating a neuroprotective property of uric acid, clinical studies have shown that elevated levels of uric acid are associated with a risk of ischemic stroke. However, the association of uric acid with cerebral hemorrhage has seldom been tested. We aimed to elucidate the association between uric acid and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), a hemorrhage-prone cerebral microangiopathy. Seven hundred twenty-four patients with ischemic stroke who were consecutively admitted to our hospital were included in this study. We collected demographic, clinical, and laboratory data, including uric acid level, and examined the presence of CMBs using T2*-weighted gradient-echo MRI. We used logistic regression analysis to examine an independent association between uric acid and CMBs. Two-hundred twenty-six patients had CMBs (31.2%). After adjusting for possible confounders, elevated uric acid was independently associated with the presence of CMBs (the highest quartile vs. lowest quartile, adjusted odd ratio [OR], 1.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-3.39). This association retained in patients with deep or infratentorial CMBs (with or without lobar CMBs) but not among those with lobar CMBs. In addition, this association was robust among patients with hypertension (the highest quartile vs. lowest quartile, adjusted OR, 2.74; 95% CI, 1.43-5.24). In contrast, we did not find the association in patients without hypertension. We demonstrated that serum uric acid is independently associated with the presence of CMBs. In particular, the relation between uric acid and CMBs was robust in hypertensive patients.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Cerebral Hemorrhage / blood
  • Cerebral Hemorrhage / etiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypertension / complications
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Risk Factors
  • Stroke / blood*
  • Stroke / complications*
  • Uric Acid / blood*

Substances

  • Uric Acid

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants of the Korea Health 21 R&D Project, Ministry of Health and Welfare (A111014), and by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (2011-0026315). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.