Could be serum uric acid a risk factor for thrombosis and/or uveitis in Behcet’s disease?

Abstract

Introduction Serum uric acid level increases in many inflammatory conditions. Uric acid triggers the vascular inflammation and artery damage, which causes to an increased risk of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. It is not clear in the literature whether uric acid contributes to uveitis by similar mechanisms. We investigated whether uric acid level increases in Behcet’s disease patients with thrombosis or anterior uveitis. Patients and methods We reviewed the medical records of 914 Behcet’s disease. After screening for exclusion criteria, there were 50 Behcet’s disease patients with thrombotic complication and as the control group 202 BD patients without any vascular complication were included to the study. In the Anterior uveitis group, there were 53 Behcet’s disease patients. The Control group consisted of 39 Behçet’s disease patients without eye findings. Results Mean uric acid value was 4.96 ± 1.06 mg/dl in Behcet’s disease patients with thrombosis whereas 4.08 ± 0.94 mg/dl in controls, indicating a significant difference ( p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the mean ages of the patients in both groups. The mean age of the BD group without eye findings was 39.31 ± 10.47 years and that of the Behcet’s disease with Anterior Uveitis group was 37.72 ± 9.65 years ( p = 0.453). The mean serum UA in the BD group without eye findings was 4.21 ± 1.21 mg/dl, while in the BD with Anterior Uveitis group it was 4.57 ± 1.37 mg/dl ( p = 0.201). Conclusion The extent of increase in uric acid level was greater in Behcet’s disease patients that have a thrombotic complication compared to those without thrombotic complication. Uric acid seems to play a role in the pathogenesis of thrombosis. It is concluded that the elevation of serum uric acid level in patients with anterior uveitis with Behcet’s disease is not statistically significant.