Potassium citrate and uric acid

Managing uric acid is an issue for people with many different medical conditions. High uric acid is caused by gout, kidney stones, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome and patients must take medication to lower their uric acid.  Uric acid can not get too low, however because low uric acid can cause multiple sclerosis (MS)

In the article Successful management of uric acid nephrolithiasis with potassium citrate; which can be read here, http://www.nature.com/ki/journal/v30/n3/abs/ki1986201a.html, researchers describe how eighteen  people with uric acid nephrolithiasis  were treated with potassium citrate for a maximum of 5 years and 4 months. Over this time the dosage was anywhere from 30 mEq to 80 mEq per day.  The result was that no new stones were formed and stones urinary pH increased from low (acidic) to normal. The conclusion drawn from this study is that uric acid nephrolithiasis can be successfully managed with potassium citrate.

We found this article interesting because Effer-K is potassium citrate, therefore it identifies additional benefits of Effer-K beyond increasing potassium levels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uric_acid
http://www.nature.com/ki/journal/v30/n3/abs/ki1986201a.html

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