A study which appears in the January issue of Neuropsychology indicates that a simple blood test- checking for uric acid levels- may help predict risk of cognitive impairment in older adults.

Patients with high-normal uric acid levels were found to have lower scores on tests of:

• mental processing speed
• verbal memory
• working memory

The question remains whether readily available drugs that reduce uric acid levels (i.e., allopurinol, probenecid, sulfinpyrazone) may benefit brain function in older adults with high uric acid levels.

Interestingly, a diet rich in purine rich foods is thought to elevate uric acid levels. Purine rich foods include animal meats- particularly beef, pork, and lamb. Shellfish is also thought to be a purine-rich food.

While researchers don’t fully understand the underlying pathophysiology that may explain the correlation between high uric acid levels and impaired brain power, nonetheless, it is known that high uric acid levels do correlate with several dementia risk factors such as:

• type 2 diabetes
• high blood pressure
• atherosclerosis

Article: “Serum Uric Acid and Cognitive Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults,” David J. Schretlen, PhD, Anjeli B. Inscore, PsyD, H. A. Jinnah, MD, PhD, Vani Rao, MD, and Barry Gordon, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Godfrey D. Pearlson, MD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Hartford Hospital/Institute of Living, and Yale University School of Medicine; Neuropsychology, Vol 21, No. 1

Tags: cognitive-impairment, mental-speed, purine-rich-foods, uric-acid, verbal-memory, working-memory