TUESDAY, Dec. 4, 2018 (HealthDay News) — There is no correlation between urate and blood pressure (BP) in mice or among patients with early Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to a study published in the November issue of EBioMedicine.
Xiqun Chen, M.D., Ph.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues systematically examined the effects of urate-modifying manipulation on BP. Data were included from a recently completed phase II trial assessing oral inosine in de novo nondisabling early PD and in three lines of genetically engineered mice: urate oxidase (UOx) global knockout (gKO), conditional KO (cKO), and transgenic (Tg) mice with markedly elevated, mildly elevated, and substantially reduced serum urate, respectively.
The researchers found that the change in serum urate, but not changes in systolic, diastolic, and orthostatic BP, differed by treatment group among clinical trial participants. No positive correlation was seen between urate elevations and changes in systolic, diastolic, and orthostatic BP (P = 0.05 [in inverse direction], 0.3, and 0.63, respectively). No significant differences were seen in systolic or diastolic BP or in their responses to BP-regulating interventions between UOx gKO, cKO, or Tg mice and their respective wild-type littermates.
“Our study does not support a hypertensive effect from urate elevation,” Chen said in a statement. “It also highlights the need for a more careful evaluation of urate-lowering treatments being investigated to treat hypertension.”
One author disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
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