The relationship between serum uric acid levels and severity of addiction in individuals with substance use disorders

Year 2023, Volume: 9 Issue: 4, 792 - 799, 04.07.2023

Çetin Turan Süheyla Ünal

https://doi.org/10.18621/eurj.1270126

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare serum uric acid levels in patients with methamphetamine and synthetic cannabinoid use disorders pre- and post-detoxification treatment with healthy controls. Secondly, to determine the relationship between the serum uric acid levels of the cases and the severity of the addiction.

Methods: Fifty methamphetamine, 50 synthetic cannabinoids, and 40 healthy controls were evaluated on the specified dates. Venous blood samples were taken from the participants to measure serum uric acid and creatinine levels. The arrangement was made by taking the Uric acid/creatinine ratio to neutralize the confounding effect of kidney functions. The Addiction Profile Index was applied to determine the severity of substance abuse in the case group.

Results: A statistically significant difference was found between the uric acid values of all three groups when the One-way ANOVA test was performed (p < 0.001). UA values were significantly lower in the case groups than in the healthy control group. When the substance use characteristics of the case groups were compared, a statistically significant difference was found in the duration of substance use (p < 0.010) and motivation (p = 0.031) subtests. Duration of substance use and craving were higher in the synthetic substance group, and motivation was higher in the methamphetamine group. According to the Pearson analysis, the severity of addiction was deduced not to be correlated with serum uric acid and uric acid/creatinine levels in both case groups.

Conclusions: Serum uric acid and uric acid/creatinine levels were found to be statistically significantly lower in individuals with methamphetamine and synthetic cannabinoid exposure compared to healthy controls. In this study, it was thought that the lower uric acid levels in the case group compared to the control group may be due to the use of uric acid as an antioxidant or a decrease in purinergic transformation. Future studies may focus on making this distinction.

Keywords

Methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoid, uric acid, severity of addiction

References

• 1. Fang P, Li X, Luo JJ, Wang H, Yang XF. A double-edged sword: uric acid and neurological disorders. Brain Disord Ther 2013;2:109.
• 2. Maiuolo J, Oppedisano F, Gratteri S, Muscoli C, Mollace V. Regulation of uric acid metabolism and excretion. Int J Cardiol 2016;213:8-14.
• 3. Ortiz R, Ulrich H, Zarate CA Jr, Machado-Vieira R. Purinergic system dysfunction in mood disorders: a key target for developing improved therapeutics. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2015;57:117-31.
• 4. Burnstock G. Purinergic signalling and disorders of the central nervous system. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2008;7:575-90.
• 5. Isaka Y, Takabatake Y, Takahashi A, Saitoh T, Yoshimori T. Hyperuricemia-induced inflammasome and kidney diseases. Nephrol Dial Transplant 2016;31:890-6.
• 6. Gherghina ME, Peride I, Tiglis M, Neagu TP, Niculae A, Checherita IA. Uric acid and oxidative stress-relationship with cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal impairment. Int J Mol Sci 2022;23:3188.
• 7. Roumeliotis S, Roumeliotis A, Dounousi E, Eleftheriadis T, Liakopoulos V. Dietary antioxidant supplements and uric acid in chronic kidney disease: a review. Nutrients 2019;11:1911.
• 8. Song Y, Tang L, Han J, Gao Y, Tang B, Shao M, et al. Uric acid provides protective role in red blood cells by antioxidant defense: a hypothetical analysis. Oxid Med Cell Longev 2019;2019:3435174.
• 9. Miao Y, Ottenbros SA, Laverman GD, Brenner BM, Cooper ME, Parving HH, et al. Effect of a reduction in uric acid on renal outcomes during losartan treatment: a post hoc analysis of the reduction of endpoints in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus with the Angiotensin II Antagonist Losartan Trial. Hypertension 2011;58:2-7.
• 10. Xiao J, Zhang XL, Fu C, Han R, Chen W, Lu Y, et al. Soluble uric acid increases NALP3 inflammasome and interleukin-1β expression in human primary renal proximal tubule epithelial cells through the Toll-like receptor 4-mediated pathway. Int J Mol Med 2015;35:1347-54.
• 11. Tuokko AT, Murtola T, Korhonen P, Kaipia A. Hyperuricemia is not an independent predictor of erectile dysfunction. Sex Med 2021;9:100319.
• 12. Kesebir S, Süner O, Yaylaci ET, Bayrak A, Turan C. Increased uric acid levels in bipolar disorder: is it trait or state? J Biol Regul Homeost Agents 2013;27:981-8.
• 13. Li S, Lu X, Chen X, Huang Z, Zhou H, Li Z, et al. The prevalence and associated clinical correlates of hyperuricemia in patients with bipolar disorder. Front Neurosci 2022;16:998747.
• 14. Bartoli F, Crocamo C, Dakanalis A, Brosio E, Miotto A, Capuzzi E, et al. Purinergic system dysfunctions in subjects with bipolar disorder: a comparative cross-sectional study. Compr Psychiatry 2017;73:1-6.
• 15. Lorenzi TM, Borba DL, Dutra G, Lara DR. Association of serum uric acid levels with emotional and affective temperaments. J Affect Disord 2010;121:161-4.
• 16. Cavalera C, Ferrari C, Bianconi G, Bulgari V, Candini V, Carrà G, et al. Substance use disorders and violent behaviour in patients with severe mental disorders: a prospective, multicentre study. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2020;54:1212-23.
• 17. Ansell EB, Laws HB, Roche MJ, Sinha R. Effects of marijuana use on impulsivity and hostility in daily life. Drug Alcohol Depend 2015;148:136-42.
• 18. Bowman GL, Shannon J, Frei B, Kaye JA, Quinn JF. Uric acid as a CNS antioxidant. J Alzheimers Dis 2010;19:1331-6.
• 19. Ögel K, Evren C, Karadağ F, Gürol DT. The development, validity, and reliability of the Addiction Profile Index (API). Turk Psikiyatri Derg 2012;23:263-75.
• 20. Stewart JL. Neurobiology, Clinical presentation, and treatment of methamphetamine use disorder: a review. JAMA Psychiatry 2020;77:959-66.
• 21. Papaseit E, Pérez-Mañá C, Pérez-Acevedo AP, Hladun O, Torres-Moreno MC, Muga R, et al. Cannabinoids: from pot to lab. Int J Med Sci 2018;15:1286-95.
• 22. Bayazit H, Selek S, Karababa IF, Cicek E, Aksoy N. Evaluation of oxidant/antioxidant status and cytokine levels in patients with cannabis use disorder. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci 2017;15:237-42.
• 23. Sestili P, Martinelli C, Colombo E, Barbieri E, Potenza L, Sartini S, et al. Creatine as an antioxidant. Amino Acids 2011;40:1385-96.
• 24. Lucca G, Comim CM, Valvassori SS, Réus GZ, Vuolo F, Petronilho F, et al. Increased oxidative stress in submitochondrial particles into the brain of rats submitted to the chronic mild stress paradigm. J Psychiatr Res 2009;43:864-69.
• 25. Erol K. [The toxicities of Bonsai]. Osmangazi Journal of Medicine 2017;39:130-9. [Article in Turkish]
• 26. Kaya E. [Substance use disorders]. Okmeydanı Tıp Dergisi 2014;30(Suppl 2):79-83. [Article in Turkish]
• 27. Papageorgiou M, Raza A, Fraser S, Nurgali K, Apostolopoulos V. Methamphetamine and its immunemodulating effects. Maturitas 2019;121:13-21.
• 28. Wang J, Lu C, Zheng L, Zhang J. Peripheral inflammatory biomarkers of methamphetamine withdrawal patients based on the neuro-inflammation hypothesis: the possible improvement effect of exercise. Front Psychiatry 2021;12:795073.
• 29. Luo Y, He H, Ou Y, Zhou Y, Fan N. Elevated serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-18 in chronic methamphetamine users. Hum Psychopharmacol 2022;37:e2810.
• 30. Sekine Y, Ouchi Y, Sugihara G, Takei N, Yoshikawa E, Nakamura K, et al. Methamphetamine causes microglial activation in the brains of human abusers. J Neurosci 2008;28:5756-61.