Kevin Yip1,2, Rebecca E Cohen1, Michael H Pillinger1,2. 1. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York. 2. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Rheumatology Section, New York Harbor Healthcare System, New York Campus, New York, New York, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Hyperuricemia is highly prevalent, affecting approximately 38 million individuals in the United States. However, the significance of asymptomatic hyperuricemia - hyperuricemia in the absence of gout - continues to be debated. RECENT FINDINGS: Asymptomatic hyperuricemia results in monosodium urate crystal deposition in tissues, which may promote chronic inflammation. Intracellularly, hyperuricemia inhibits the master regulator adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-associated protein kinase and may condition innate immune responses through durable epigenetic modifications. At the population level, asymptomatic hyperuricemia is associated with multiple comorbidities, including hypertension, chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease, and diabetes; limitations of these studies include that most are retrospective and some do not rigorously distinguish between asymptomatic hyperuricemia and gout. Treatment studies suggest that urate lowering may reduce the risk of incidence or progression of some of these comorbidities; unfortunately, many of these treatment studies are small or flawed, and not all study results are consistent. SUMMARY: Accumulating evidence suggests that asymptomatic hyperuricemia contributes to the comorbidities with which it associates and that proper asymptomatic hyperuricemia treatment may reduce future risk. Additional prospective trials are needed to definitely establish causality and support decision-making as to whether, and which patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia would warrant urate-lowering treatment.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Hyperuricemia is highly prevalent, affecting approximately 38 million individuals in the United States. However, the significance of asymptomatic hyperuricemia - hyperuricemia in the absence of gout - continues to be debated. RECENT FINDINGS: Asymptomatic hyperuricemia results in monosodium urate crystal deposition in tissues, which may promote chronic inflammation. Intracellularly, hyperuricemia inhibits the master regulator adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-associated protein kinase and may condition innate immune responses through durable epigenetic modifications. At the population level, asymptomatic hyperuricemia is associated with multiple comorbidities, including hypertension, chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease, and diabetes; limitations of these studies include that most are retrospective and some do not rigorously distinguish between asymptomatic hyperuricemia and gout. Treatment studies suggest that urate lowering may reduce the risk of incidence or progression of some of these comorbidities; unfortunately, many of these treatment studies are small or flawed, and not all study results are consistent. SUMMARY: Accumulating evidence suggests that asymptomatic hyperuricemia contributes to the comorbidities with which it associates and that proper asymptomatic hyperuricemia treatment may reduce future risk. Additional prospective trials are needed to definitely establish causality and support decision-making as to whether, and which patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia would warrant urate-lowering treatment.
Authors: Bernardo Rodriguez-Iturbe; Richard J Johnson; Miguel A Lanaspa; Takahiko Nakagawa; Fernando E Garcia-Arroyo; Laura G Sánchez-Lozada Journal: Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol Date: 2022-03-10 Impact factor: 3.619
Authors: Michael Toprover; Binita Shah; Cheongeun Oh; Talia F Igel; Aaron Garza Romero; Virginia C Pike; Fatmira Curovic; Daisy Bang; Deana Lazaro; Svetlana Krasnokutsky; Stuart D Katz; Michael H Pillinger Journal: Arthritis Res Ther Date: 2020-07-11 Impact factor: 5.156