Introduction: Although epidemiologic studies suggest a link between serum uric acid (SUA) and vascular complications in diabetes, the relationship of uric acid with diabetic nephropathy remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the relationship between SUA and the degree of albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and methods: The cross-sectional study included 223 T2D patients. Nephropathy was graded as follows: nor-moalbuminuria, urinary albumin excretion (UAE) less than 30 mg per gram of creatinine (mg/g Cr); microalbuminuria, 30 to 300 mg/g Cr; or macroalbuminuria, more than 300 mg/g Cr. SUA was measured using a uricase-peroxidase enzymatic method. Results: The degree of nephropathy was as follows: normoalbuminuria in 163 subjects, microalbuminuria in 45 subjects, and macroalbuminuria in 15 patients. SUA did not differ significantly according to the degree of albuminuria. In addition, multivariable analysis demonstrated that hyperuricemia was not an independent predictor of neither microalbuminuria nor macroalbuminuria in T2D patients. Conclusion: Hyperuricemia does not reflect the severity of nephropathy in T2D patients.

CUMA BULENT GUL1*, ABDULMECIT YILDIZ2, OZEN OZ GUL3, MUSTAFA HARTAVI4, SONER CANDER3, AYCA EROGLU4, NERMIN KENI4, AYSENUR BAYINDIR4, ALPARSLAN ERSOY2, CANAN ERSOY3 1Sevket Yilmaz Research and Training Hospital, Department of Nephrology, Bursa 2Uludag University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Nephrology, Bursa 3Uludag University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Endocrinology 4Uludag University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Bursa, Turkey

Aim: The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in elderly populations, and is thought to be an important risk factor for cognitive dysfunction in this age group. Methods: The study included 104 patients aged over 60 years who were followed-up for type 2 diabetes for at least 6 months, in addition to 44 controls. Glycemic parameters, microangiopathic complications, microalbumin elimination, and the Standardized Mini Mental State Examination (SMMSE) scores were used as indicators of cognitive function. Results: The SMMSE scores of diabetic patients were significantly lower than the control group (p<0.05). The average SMMSE score for normoalbuminuric diabetic patients was 22.36 +/- 4.66, compared with 22.61 +/- 4.90 for the microalbuminuria patients (p = 0.84). A positive correlation was found between SMMSE scores and patients' hemoglobin values and education levels, whereas a negative correlation was noted between SMMSE scores and systolic and diastolic blood pressures and hemoglobin A1c levels (p<0.05). Patients with diabetic neuropathy, a microvascular complication of diabetes, were found to have significantly lower SMMSE scores (p = 0.011). Conclusion: Elderly diabetic patients showed decreased cognitive function compared to volunteers. No relationship was established between microalbuminuria and cognitive functions, although diabetic neuropathy was found to be related to decreased cognitive function.