URIC ACID METABOLISM OF CHILDREN

Abstract

In a previous article,¹we reported an investigation showing the effect of various purin-free diets on the daily excretion of uric acid. The diets used were a high protein, a high fat and a high carbohydrate, which were continued over periods varying from two to four days. It was found that the high protein purin-free diet resulted in the largest excretion of uric acid in the urine. This result confirmed the reports of other investigators,²who have demonstrated that the ingestion of food free from purin precursors, especially the proteins, may markedly raise the level of endogenous uric acid excretion. In discussing this fact, we stated at that time, that: While a high protein diet is a factor in the increased elimination of uric acid, it cannot be regarded as a quantitative one, for the protein ingestion in Case 2 was almost four times as much as that