Purine metabolism in the circulatory system yields uric acid as its final oxidation product, which is believed to be linked to the development of gout and kidney stones. Hyperuricemia is closely correlated with cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and chronic kidney disease, as attested by the epidemiological and empirical research. In this review, we summarize the recent knowledge about hyperuricemia, with a special focus on its physiology, epidemiology, and correlation with cardiovascular disease. This review also discusses the possible positive effects of treatment to reduce urate levels in patients with cardiovascular disease and hyperuricemia, which may lead to an improved clinical treatment plan.

Introduction Several systemic autoimmune diseases are associated with an increased prevalence of atherosclerosis which could not be explained by traditional risk factors alone. In systemic sclerosis (SSc), microvascular abnormalities are well recognized. Previous studies have suggested an increased prevalence of macrovascular disease as well. We compared patients with SSc to healthy controls for signs of early atherosclerosis by measuring intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery in relation to traditional risk factors and markers of endothelial activation.

Five new prenylated benzoylphloroglucinol derivatives, garciesculentones A-E (1-5), a new xanthone, garciesculenxanthone A (6), and 15 known compounds were isolated from the petroleum ether extract and the EtOAc-soluble fraction of a 80% (v/v) EtOH extract of Garcinia esculenta. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic analysis and mass spectrometry. Experimental and calculated ECD and a convenient modified Mosher's method were used to determine the absolute configurations. The cytotoxicity of these compounds were evaluated by MTT assay against three human cancer cell lines (HepG2, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231) and against normal hepatic cells (HL-7702). In addition, these isolates were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on interferon-γ plus lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 cells.

Event-related potential (ERP) has the potential to reveal the temporal neurophysiological dynamics of risk decision-making, but this potential has not been fully explored in previous studies. When predicting risk decision with ERPs, most studies focus on between-trial analysis that reflects feedback learning, while within-trial analysis that could directly link option assessment with behavioral output has been largely ignored. Suitable task design is crucial for applying within-trial prediction. In this study, we used a modified version of the classic Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). In each trial of the task, participants made multiple rounds of decisions between a risky option (pump up the balloon) and a safe option (cash out). Behavioral results show that as the level of economic risk increased, participants were less willing to make a risky decision and also needed a longer response time to do so. In general, the ERP results showed distinct characteristics compared with previous findings based on between-trial prediction, particularly about the role of the P1 component. Specifically, both the P1 (amplitude and latency) and P3 (amplitude) components evoked by current outcomes predicted subsequent decisions. We suggest that these findings indicate the importance of selective attention (indexed by the P1) and motivational functions (indexed by the P3), which may help clarify the cognitive mechanism of risk decision-making. The theoretical significance of these findings is discussed.