Serum Uric Acid Levels in Chinese Patients with Classic Multiple Sclerosis: Before and After Treatment with Interferon-beta 1b

  Objective  To investigate the changes of serum uric acid (UA) level and its relationship with relapse rate, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, and the number of contrast-enhancing lesions (CELs) in Chinese patients with classic multiple sclerosis (CMS) before and after interferon (IFN) -beta 1b treatment.

  Methods  Twelve patients (10 women and 2 men, aged 24 to 54 years) with definite CMS were enrolled into a 6-month open-label observational treatment study. IFN-beta 1b (250 μg, qod) was injected subcutaneously during remission stage. EDSS, relapse rate, number of CELs, and serum UA levels were examined both at baseline and at the end of the study.

  Results  After treatment, the median relapse rate (0.0 vs. 0.9, P=0.011) and median number of CELs (0.0 vs. 1.5, P=0.007) decreased significantly compared with those before treatment. The median EDSS score also decreased from 2.8 to 2.0, but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.064). Serum UA level increased from 222.2 μmol/L to 239.4 μmol/L after treatment, although the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.213). However, there was significant correlation between the increase in UA level and the decrease in number of CELs (r=-0.716, P=0.009).

  Conclusions  UA may serve as an easily detectable and economic marker for the blood-brain barrier function in CMS patients and for the responses to IFN-beta 1b treatment.