[The functional characteristics of the enzymatic antioxidant system in the erythrocytes and neutrophils of the blood of patients with generalized forms of meningococcal infection]. / Osobennosti funktsionirovaniia fermentnoi antioksidantnoi sistemy v éritrotsitakh i neitrofilakh krovi bol'nykh s generalizovannymi formami meningokokkovoi infektsii.

Patients with meningococcal infection, meningitis and with a mixed form of the disease were demonstrated to have unbalance in the redox system of glutathione during the all disease periods till the clinical recovery. Activation of glutathione peroxidases to hydrogen peroxide and tertiary butyl hydroperoxide in erythrocytes was coupled, during the whole disease, with unbalance of the time-course of changes in the interrelated enzymes--superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase to hydrogen peroxide, while in neutrophils, the balance of those enzymes remained unimpaired. Glutathione transferase activity appeared reduced both in erythrocytes and neutrophils. Potential mechanisms by which the redox system of glutathione and superoxide dismutase may be deranged in meningococcal infection are under discussion.

[The enzymatic antioxidant system of the thrombocytes in meningococcal infection]. / Sostoianie fermentnoi antioksidantnoi sistemy trombotsitov pri meningokokkovoi infektsii.

A study was made of the time-course of changes in the activity of the enzymic antioxidant system of blood platelets from patients with meningococcemia and meningitis (mixed form) of medium gravity. As a result a steady unbalance in the redox system of glutathione was established: a decrease of glutathione reductase activity and rise of the activity of glutathione peroxidases to hydrogen peroxide and tertiary butyl hydroperoxide until the clinical recovery. The patients with meningococcal meningitis and with the mixed form of medium gravity manifested impairment of the interrelations between superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase to hydrogen peroxide, with that impairment being eliminated by the end of the disease. Potential mechanisms by which the enzymic antioxidant system is impaired in meningococcal infection are discussed.