Relationship between serum uric acid levels and the outcome of STN-DBS in Parkinson’s disease

Background Uric acid is a natural antioxidant and it has been shown that low levels of uric acid may be a risk factor for the development of Parkinson’s disease. We aimed to investigate the relationship between uric acid and improvement of motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation. Methods We analyzed the correlation between serum uric acid levels in 64 patients with Parkinson’s disease and the rate of improvement of motor symptoms 2 years after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation. Results A non-linear correlation was observed between uric acid levels and the rate of motor symptom improvement after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation, during both the drug-off and drug-on periods. Conclusions Uric acid is positively associated with the rate of motor symptom improvement in subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation within a certain range.