Mendelian Randomisation Finds No Causal Association between Urate and Parkinson's Disease Progression

Background Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative movement disorder. Observational studies suggest higher levels of plasma urate may protect against Parkinson's risk and progression; however, causality cannot be established. Objectives This study set out to determine whether there is a true causal association between urate levels and PD age at onset (AAO) and progression severity using recently released PD AAO and progression genome-wide association study (GWAS) data. Methods A large two-sample Mendelian randomization design was employed, using genetic variants underlying urate levels and the latest GWAS data for PD outcomes. Results This study found no causal association between urate levels and Parkinson's risk, AAO, or progression severity. Conclusions Our results predict increasing urate levels as a therapeutic strategy is unlikely to benefit PD patients. (c) 2021 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society