Becoming, Being and Building: A Qualitative Descriptive Study of the Experiences of Clinical Research Nurses.

As life expectancy increases and more people are living past age 65, cognitive dysfunction is becoming an increasingly significant health challenge for older adults. With ageing, individuals may experience varying degrees of decline across multiple cognitive domains, including memory, attention, language, executive function, and visuospatial function. Serum uric acid (SUA), a by-product of purine metabolism, has a dual role in cognition. Its pro-oxidant properties promote free radical production, and cause inflammation, both of which are considered key pathogenic mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction. Conversely, the antioxidant properties help mitigate oxidative stress, potentially slowing neurodegenerative processes and delaying the onset of cognitive dysfunction. Associations between SUA levels and cognitive function have been examined in several prospective cohort studies, but with mixed findings. Some recent studies have linked higher levels of SUA to better cognitive performance in global cognition, attention, episodic memory, executive function, and mental intactness. Few studies, however, have reported an association between higher levels of SUA and poorer function in global cognition, executive function, language and memory, while others found no association.