title: Uric acid a better scavenger of free radicals than vitamin C in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Uric acid an endogenous aqueous antioxidant in normal humans is present in much higher concentrations than vitamin C and has been known to cover 2/3(rd) of the free radical scavenging capacity in plasma. In the present study average uric acid levels of patients of rheumatoid arthritis were found to be close to the normal individuals. A unique feature was observed after classifying the patients on the basis of the duration of suffering, the patients having longer duration of disease had least uric acid levels as compared to those suffering from relatively lesser period, similar trend was observed in the ascorbic acid estimations. The decline in uric acid values with progression of the disease was much more than what was observed in case of ascorbic acid suggesting the significant role of uric acid in scavenging of free radicals. Too much lowering of Uric Acid should be checked and vitamin C should be supplemented in diet for maintaining the balance between pro oxidant and antioxidant forces to check pro oxidant insult in rheumatoid arthritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Govt. Medical College, Amritsar, Punjab India  ; 100 Dayanand Nagar, Lawrence Road, Amritsar, Punjab India.
authors.forename: Mridula
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.forename: Sukhraj
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Shruti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kant
keywords: Adenosine Deaminase; Inflammation; Rheumatoid Arthritis; Uric acid