study of glutathione uric acid status in the nasal mucucosa of chronic sinusitis patients

ABSTRACT

There is an increasing interest in the concept that oxidant antioxidant imbalance plays a role in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory disorders of the respiratory tract. This study was planned to determine if patients with chronic sinusitis demonstrate altered levels of the tissue antioxidants glutathione and auric acid, compared to healthy control mucosa. Inflamed uncinate process mucosa samples were obtained from 50 patients with chronic sinusitis during functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Normal mucosal samples were collected from 20 healthy controls. The levels of tissue uric acid and glutathione were determined biochemically. The data [presented as mean +/- SD] showed a significant reduction of the reduced glutathione level [0.3 14 +/- 0.055 micro mol/g wet weight] [P<0.01], and uric acid level [2.057 +/- 0.155 mol/g wet weight] [P<0.05], compared with healthy controls [0.61 +/- 0.13 and 2.85 +/- 0.22 micro mol/g wet weight, respectively]. Also there was a positive significant correlation between the mean values of glutathione and uric acid in patient samples [r=0.316]. The presented data suggested that the observed decrease of tissue antioxidant may play a role in the impaired defense mechanism of nasal mucosa during the course of chronic sinusitis and that adjuvant antioxidant therapy may have a role in achieving better prognosis in the disease management