Uric acid is a substance naturally present in our body, composed of a chemical element, nitrogen, of which our tissues are composed, and with acidic properties, as its name suggests. Uric acid, which is a normal waste product produced by our body, is normally eliminated through urine in particular. With age, uric acid is eliminated less well, and an abnormally high level of this substance in the blood leads to health problems such as gout, inflammatory rheumatism, or kidney stones.
Uric acid is an element normally present in our body. It comes from the degradation of molecules called purines which play a crucial role in the renewal of our cells by reconstituting their DNA (essential constituent of chromosomes) and their RNA (genetic support for protein synthesis).
Uric acid thus designates a waste that the body eliminates, among other things, through the kidneys, in the urine. It is when it fails to evacuate properly that health problems can arise.
The dosage of uric acid is obtained through a blood test taken on an empty stomach or, sometimes, by an analysis of urine collected at sunrise.
Normally, uric acid should be present in our body at 30 mg to 70 mg per liter of blood. Beyond these proportions (more than 70 mg/l in men and more than 65 mg/l in women), uric acid is considered to be in excess in the blood, resulting in the occurrence of health problems. . This excess, which causes the formation of sodium urate crystals, and called hyperuricemia, leads in particular to kidney dysfunction but also to joint problems.
The increase in the level of uric acid in our body, because it struggles to be eliminated naturally through the urine, is a phenomenon that occurs more easily with age. But this excess can also be due to poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, obesity and family history in particular. Diabetes can also be associated with an increase in uric acid in our body.
Gout, an inflammatory rheumatism, can be caused by an excess of uric acid in the blood. This disease which affects the joints is caused by the formation of crystals, due to this high content of uric acid in the blood, which will lodge on and around the joints most often of the big toe and the elbow, but which can affect also other joints, and cause what is called a gout attack.
The attack of gout designates very violent joint pains which most often occur at night. It most commonly affects men over the age of 40. If gout is not treated, the excess uric acid causes the formation of balls (called "tophus") which are placed on the joints in an irreparable way.
Excess uric acid in the blood can also lead to kidney problems, and in particular cause kidney stones. Again, it is the crystals that form because of this excess that aggregate to form stones. A process all the more reinforced as the urine also has a high acid level. In this case, these crystals migrate to the kidneys and, in the most severe cases, can block them.
As we age, urine tends to become more acidic because the kidneys work more slowly. This is why, after the age of 60, excess uric acid is more likely to cause kidney stones.
