Uric acid: friend or foe? Uric acid and cognitive function "Gout kills more wise men than simple".

OBJECTIVE

The association between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular risk is widely known, and hyperuricemia is associated with many pathological conditions due to its effect on the endothelial function and metabolic homeostasis. The aim of this study was to verify whether the available literature may support the hypothesis that uric acid has a protective and stimulating effect on the cerebral cortex.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We reviewed the actual knowledge of the positive effects of uric acid in terms of antioxidant action, neuroprotection, cognitive function, and intellectual performance.

CONCLUSIONS

Uric acid has a stimulating effect on the cerebral cortex, and this could have allowed humans, compared with other animals, to develop higher brain mass volume, better intellectual performances, and maybe evolutionary supremacy. On the other, a growing body of evidence is accumulating on the independent association between uric acid and cardiovascular risk. A careful interpretation of uric acid levels is appropriate and necessary in different kinds of patients, both at risk of cardiovascular or neurodegenerative diseases, due to its contrasting significance.