Ischemic stroke: focus on hyperuricemia

Uric acid is a weak organic acid with a molecular weight of 168.112 g/mol. Most uric acid at normal blood pH circulates as urates, negatively charged weak salts derived from uric acid. Being the end product of the process of purine catabolism, uric acid is excreted from the human body in urine until kidney function is impaired. Hyperuricemia may occur due to decreased excretion, increased production, or a combination of both mechanisms. Over the past decades, several studies in the adult population have attempted to establish the correlation between the risk of stroke and serum uric acid concentrations, and how these levels influence the patient's neurological outcome after stroke. Our review is devoted to the study of the mechanisms of normal purine metabolism, disorders of purine metabolism and pathogenetic mechanisms of the development of ischemic stroke in hyperuricemia.