ANTIOXIDANT EFFECTS OF URIC ACID ON PATIENTS WITH TYPE-2 DIABETES MELLITUS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

There is paucity of information on the antioxidant role of uric acid in the management of diabetic stress. This study seeks to elucidate the antioxidant usefulness of uric acid in type-2 diabetes mellitus patients visiting the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua and Ekpoma environs of Edo state, Nigeria. Serum uric acid concentration was estimated in one hundred (100) subjects comprising of sixty (60) type 2 diabetic patients (30 males and 30 females) and forty (40) non-diabetic subjects (20 males and 20 females) using the enzymatic method (uricase). The non-diabetic individuals were apparently healthy subjects and served as controls. The mean ± standard deviation of the serum uric acid concentration in type 2 diabetic individuals was 159 ± 21.55?mol/l while, in non-diabetic subjects, (controls) 295.7 ± 53.76?mol/l. The results established a statistical difference in the serum uric acid concentration in type 2 diabetic individuals and the non-diabetic subjects (p< 0.05).The work also revealed a decrease in serum uric acid concentration in type 2 diabetic patients due to oxidative stress that decreases the antioxidant capacity of the body involving uric acid