Free radical pathology in chronic arterial disease

Jill J. F. Belch, Mridula Chopra, Stephen Hutchison, Ross Lorimer, Roger D. Sturrock, Charles D. Forbes, W. Ewan Smith

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    81 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The generation of toxic oxygen metabolites is more usually associated with inflammation. However, pathological free radical reactions can cause tissue damage by adversely affecting prostacyclin (PGI2) synthesis allowing initiation of coagulation. We have assessed changes in the red cell defence to toxic oxygen metabolite generation, viz measurement of glutathione concentration (GSH) and superoxide dismutase activity (SOD). GSH and SOD were measured in 20 patients with peripheral arterial disease, 22 patients with vasculitis, and 11 patients with angina, and compared to 17 matched controls. The 53 subjects with arterial disease had significantly lower SOD levels: in contrast GSH levels were significantly higher. Extracellularly plasma thiol levels (PSH) were low and caeruloplasmin (Cp) levels were high. We suggest that free radical pathology exists not only in inflammatory vascular disease but also in atherosclerosis.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)375-378
    Number of pages4
    JournalFree Radical Biology and Medicine
    Volume6
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1989

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Free radical pathology in chronic arterial disease'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this