Objective To investigate the relationship between serum uric acid and white matter lesions (WMLs)
in cerebral ischemic stroke patients.
Methods From January 2011 to December 2012, a cross-sectional study was conducted at the inpatient
Department of Neurology of the First Hospital of Nanchang. All consecutive patients with
first-episode cerebral ischemic stroke admitted to hospital within 48 hours of onset were recruited
into this study. The patients were divided into severe WML group and mild WML group according
to the Ylikoski scores. Serum biochemical indices including serum uric acid, serum glucose,
triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high
density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were compared between the two groups, and risk factors
for severe WMLs were analyzed with multivariate Logistic regression models.
Results Three hundred and twenty-one patients with cerebral ischemic stroke were enrolled into
this study, 159 of them for severe WML group and 162 for mild WML group. The age (P <0.001),
the incidence of diabetes (P =0.011), serum glucose (P <0.001), serum uric acid (P <0.001) and the
incidence of hyperuricemia (P =0.002) were higher in severe WMLs group than in mild WMIs group,
while the sex, the incidence of hypertension, systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, the incidence of
atrial fibrillation, TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and smoking history between the two groups showed no
differences (all P >0.05). Age (odds ratio [OR] 1.062, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0008~1.119, P =0.023), serum uric acid (OR 1.531, 95%CI 1.186~1.975, P =0.001) and hyperuricemia (OR 1.131,
95%CI 1.047~1.222, P =0.002) were independent risk factors for severe WMLs after adjustment for
sex, blood pressure, concomitant hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, serum glucose, serum
lipid and smoking history.
Conclusion These data suggest that serum uric acid and hyperuricemia are independent risk factors
for severe WMLs in cerebral ischemic stroke patients.
