What is hyperuricemia?
Hyperuricemia is an excess of uric acid in the blood. Uric acid passes through the liver, and enters your bloodstream. Most of it is excreted (removed from your body) in your urine, or passes through your intestines to regulate "normal" levels.
Normal Uric acid levels are 2.4-6.0 mg/dL (female) and 3.4-7.0 mg/dL (male). Normal values will vary from laboratory to laboratory.
Also important to blood uric acid levels are purines. Purines are nitrogen-containing compounds, which are made inside the cells of your body (endogenous), or come from outside of your body, from foods containing purine (exogenous). Purine breaks down into uric acid. Increased levels of uric acid from excess purines may accumulate in your tissues, and form crystals. This may cause high uric acid levels in the blood.
Uric acid formation may occur when the blood uric acid level rises above 7 mg/dL. Problems, such as kidney stones, and gout (collection of uric acid crystals in the joints, especially in your toes and fingers), may occur.
What causes hyperuricemia?
Causes of high uric acid levels (hyperuricemia) can be primary (increased uric acid levels due to purine), and secondary (high uric acid levels due to another disease or condition). Sometimes, the body produces more uric acid than it is able to excrete.
Causes of high uric acid levels include:
Primary hyperuricemiaIncreased production of uric acid from purineYour kidneys cannot get rid of the uric acid in your blood, resulting in high levelsSecondary hyperuricemiaCertain cancers, or chemotherapy agents may cause an increased turnover rate of cell death. This is usually due to chemotherapy, but high uric acid levels can occur before chemotherapy is administered.After chemotherapy, there is often a rapid amount of cellular destruction, and tumor lysis syndrome may occur. You may be at risk for tumor lysis syndrome if you receive chemotherapy for certain types of leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma, if there is a large amount of disease present.Kidney disease - this may cause you to not be able to clear the uric acid out of your system, thus causing hyperuricemia.Medications - can cause increased levels of uric acid in the bloodEndocrine or metabolic conditions -certain forms of diabetes, or acidosiscan cause hyperuricemiaElevated uric acid levels may produce kidney problems, or none at all. People may live many years with elevated uric acid levels, and they do not develop gout or gouty arthritis (arthritis means "joint inflammation"). Only about 20% of people with elevated uric acid levels ever develop gout, and some people with gout do not have significantly elevated uric acid levels in their blood.
