EULAR: Levels of Homocysteine Higher in Gout

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   ROME -- Homocysteine levels -- often a marker of inflammation -- are elevated in patients with gout, and are correlated with serum uric acid levels in these patients as well, researchers found. 

In 60 men with gout, homocysteine levels were 16.5 mmol/l compared with a level of 14.9 mmol/l among 39 men with other rheumatic disorders but not gout (P<0.05), according to Ole Slot, MD, of the Glostrup Hospital in Glostrup, Denmark.
In 13 women with gout, the same pattern held -- the level of plasma homocysteine was 24 mmol/l compared with 18 mmol/l among 26 women with other forms of rheumatic disease (P<0.01), Slot reported here at the European League Against Rheumatism meeting
Men and women were analyzed separately, he said, since the women with gout tended to be considerably older (about 80) than the men with gout (about 60).
"Future studies should investigate if urate lowering therapy reduces levels of plasma homocysteine in patients with gout," Slot said.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/GeneralRheumatology/20787