ABSTRACT
Coronary heart diseases, specially myocardial ischemias due to atherosclerosis, are among the major causes of mortality in industrialized societies. Oxidative stress occurs during ischemia. This finding has been confirmed by in vitro studies which have shown some changes in antioxidant concentration during ischemia. However, antioxidant system status and its relation to ceruloplasmin as a risk factor have not been studied in patients with ischemic heart disease [IHD]. This study was conducted to evaluate this status. This case-control study carried out on 99 men, aged 35-55 years. Two groups including 29 patients with IHD due to coronary artery stenosis above 70 percent, confirmed by angiography and exercise tests, and 70 healthy men without heart disease, diabetes and hypertension background were studied. Blood samples were collected from all subjects early in the morning. Then catalase and superoxide dismutase [SOD] activities, total antioxidant of serum [TAS], ceruloplasmin and malondialdehyde [MDA] concentrations were measured by a spectrophotometric method. TAS, SOD and catalase levels were 0.9 +/- 0.04 mmol/L, 1224 +/- 21.40 U/g Hb and 5657 +/- 290.60 U/g Hb respectively in patients which were significantly lower than those of controls 1.6 +/- 0.02 mmol/L, 1488 +/- 13.03 U/g Hb and 7546 +/- 176.80 U/g Hb [p<0.05]. MDA and ceruloplasmin concentrations were 36 +/- 0.92 mg/dl, 277 +/- 6.90 nmol/g Hb] respectively in cases and 29 +/- 0.60 mg/dl and 247 +/- 4.20 nmol/g Hb in controls which showed a significant difference [p<0.05]. There was no statistical correlation between antioxidants and ceruloplasmin level in these groups. In patients with IHD, antioxidant system capacity was lower than that of controls which can explain higher lipid peroxidation in these patients. Also we can not predict lipid peroxidation severity by measuring ceruloplasmin level because no association was found between these two factors