Spontaneous urinary visible luminescence: characteristics and modification by oxidative stress-related clinical conditions

Urinary visible luminescence is the result of the excretion of oxidized biomolecules and, as such, could provide a valuable index of systemic oxidative stress. The characteristics of the urinary luminescence that support this proposal are reviewed and the data obtained for patients with hyperthyroidism and children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy are also discussed. Enhanced urinary chemiluminescence was observed in both pathologies. A similar enhancement was obtained when the urinary luminescence of smokers was compared to that of non-smokers. The possibilities and limitations of this noninvasive methodology for the evaluation of systemic oxidative stress is critically evaluated.