High uric acid level

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Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

A high uric acid level, or hyperuricemia, is an excess of uric acid in your blood. Uric acid is produced during the breakdown of purine, a substance found in many foods. Once produced, uric acid is carried in your blood and passes through your kidneys, where most of it leaves your body when you urinate.

A high uric acid level may result in attacks of gout, but not everyone who has high uric acid gets gout, and not everyone with gout has high uric acid.

Causes
References
  1. Longo DL, et al. Harrison's Online. 18th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=4. Accessed Sept. 3, 2012.
  2. Kim SY, et al. Hyperuricemia and coronary heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Arthritis Care & Research. 2010;62:170.
  3. Ohno, I. Relationship between hyperuricemia and chronic kidney disease. Nucleosides, Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids. 2011;30:1039.
  4. Jin M, et al. Uric acid, hyperuricemia and vascular diseases. Frontiers in Bioscience. 2012;17:656.
  5. Kanbay M, et al. Uric acid in hypertension and renal disease: The chicken or the egg? Blood Purification. 2010;30:288.
  6. So A, et al. Uric acid transport and disease. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2010;120:1791.
  7. Questions and answers about gout. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Gout/default.asp. Accessed Sept. 3, 2012.
  8. Uric acid. Lab Tests Online. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/uric-acid/tab/glance. Accessed Sept. 6, 2012.
  9. Hochberg J, et al. Tumor lysis syndrome: Current perspective. Haematologica. 2008;93:9.
MY00160 Dec. 14, 2012

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