Asymmetric and Symmetric Dimethylarginine in Adolescents with Hyperuricemia

UNLABELLED The purpose of this work was to investigate if in adolescents with hyperuricemia serum levels of asymmetric and symmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA, SDMA) are increased and if their levels correlate with serum uric acid (UA). PATIENTS AND METHODS The study group consisted of 58 hyperuricemic patients aged median 16.15 Q1-Q3 (14-17). The reference group contained 27 healthy individuals with normal serum UA level. ADMA and SDMA were measured by immunoenzymatic ELISA commercial kits and expressed in μ mol/L. Serum UA was measured by the colorimetric method. RESULTS In hyperuricemic patients serum ADMA values did not differ between two estimated groups (P > 0.05); however, SDMA was significantly higher than in reference group (P < 0.01). Serum ADMA and SDMA correlated positively with UA (r = 0.34, P < 0.01) (r = 0.31, P < 0.01) and hs-CRP (r = 0.20, P < 0.05) (r = 0.36, P < 0.01), respectively. CONCLUSION We demonstrated increased SDMA but not ADMA levels in adolescents with hyperuricemia and their correlation with serum uric acid levels. However, at the moment it is difficult to answer the question if it is just coexistence of these factors or any mechanism linking uric acid and methylated arginines really exists.