A review of data collected from 800 people with early stage Parkinson's disease over a 2 year period has shown that the disease’s progression is associated with the levels of urate(尿酸塩)in the blood. Urate is a powerful antioxidant(酸化防止剤)and a prominent component of spinal(脊髄の)fluid, blood, and urine(尿). In the study, those patients with the highest urate levels were half as likely as those with the lowest levels to require medication to treat their Parkinson’s symptoms, and their dopamine-producing neurons remained most intact.