Oxidative stress in children affected by epileptic encephalopathies.

Oxidative stress may lead to abnormal peroxidation of membrane lipids, oxidation of sulfhydryl groups and disruption of nucleic acids. Experimental and clinical studies suggested that free radicals may be involved in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. Three groups of patients were considered in the study. Group 1 (N=34) included patients affected by epileptic encephalopathy; Group 2 (N=31) included those affected by idiopathic epilepsy syndromes and under valproic acid (VPA) monotherapy, and Group 3 (N=22) represented by healthy controls. All patients and healthy children underwent blood withdrawals to evaluate redox status by measuring levels of F2-isoprostanes (F2-iso), advanced oxidative protein products (AOPP), non-protein binding iron (NPBI), thiols (-SH groups), and total hydroperoxides (TH). In comparison to the controls, Group 1 patients showed significantly higher plasma levels of F2-iso, AOPP, and TH. By contrast, no differences there were in the plasma NPBI concentrations. Again, no statistical differences there were in the plasma levels of the oxidative stress markers between patients from Group 2 and normal subjects. Our study showed that patients with epileptic encephalopathy have increased levels of oxidative stress markers. By contrast, normal redox status was observed in patients with idiopathic epilepsy syndromes under long-term VPA monotherapy.

Effects of lutein on oxidative stress in the term newborn: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress (OS) plays a crucial role in pathological conditions during the early neonatal period. The newborns are susceptible to oxidative damage due to high metabolic rate and low levels of antioxidant enzymes. Lutein has been found to have protective functions in adult humans as antioxidant. AIM: To evaluate the effects of lutein on OS in newborns. We tested the hypothesis that lutein would act both by increasing antioxidant capacity and inhibiting OS. METHODS: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-center study. 20 healthy term newborns were assigned to receive lutein or placebo (lutein and control group, respectively) at 12 and 36 h after birth. Total hydroperoxides (TH), as marker of OS, and biological antioxidant potential (BAP), as marker of antioxidant power, were detected on cord blood and at 48 h of life in all babies. RESULTS: TH significantly increased from birth to 48 h in the control group (p = 0.02), but not in the lutein group. In the lutein group, BAP significantly increased after 48 h (p = 0.02), showing a strengthening of antioxidant activity due to lutein. At 48 h of life, compared with those in the control group, neonates assigned to receive lutein had significantly lower TH levels (p = 0.04) and higher BAP levels (p = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Lutein administration in newborns increases the levels of BAP decreasing TH. The enhancement of antioxidant activity in plasma clearly results in protecting newborn from perinatal OS. These preliminary results, adding a new contribution in antioxidant strategies, strongly require to be confirmed by RCT.

Superoxide dismutase and catalase activity in naturally derived commercial surfactants.

Despite the role of reactive oxygen species in the development of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants, the anti-oxidant properties of commercial surfactants have never been studied. We measured the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity, the scavenger activity against hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), and its changes after the addition of SOD and CAT in four natural surfactants, namely Infasurf, Curosurf, Survanta, and Alveofact. We found that they contain measurable amount of SOD and CAT. Curosurf and Survanta seem to have higher antioxidant effect than Infasurf and Alveofact. Moreover, the highest phospholipid concentration and recommended dose of Curosurf imply that its scavenger activity for each treatment dose in preterm infants is likely higher than that of Survanta. Finally, the supplementation with SOD and CAT induced a remarkable increase of antioxidant action in all studied surfactants.