The keys of oxidative stress in acquired immune deficiency syndrome apoptosis.

Apoptosis is the main cause of CD4+ T-lymphocyte depletion in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Various agents appear to be able to trigger apoptosis in CD4+ T cells, including viral proteins (i.e. gp120, Tat), inappropriate secretion of inflammatory cytokines by activated macrophages (i.e. tumor necrosis factor alpha) and toxins produced by opportunistic micro-organisms. Since oxidative stress can also induce apoptosis, it can be hypothesized that such a mechanism could participate in CD4+ T-cell apoptosis observed in AIDS. This correlates strongly with the observation that AIDS patients present low levels of antioxidants (i.e. superoxide dismutase-Mn, vitamin E, selenium and glutathion) most likely due to inappropriate nutrition (i.e. diets poor in antioxidants), alcohol and drug consumption, and digestive problems associated with the disease. Furthermore, the coadministration of the antiviral drug zidovudine with antioxidants increases its therapeutic potential. Finally, the following additional observations support the hypothesis that oxidative stress is involved in cell apoptosis in AIDS: (1) The depletion of the anti-apoptotic/antioxidant protein Bcl-2 in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected CD4+ cells; (2) a decrease of apoptosis in HIV-infected cells treated with antioxidants and; (3) the presence of the pro-apoptotic/pro-oxidant cytokines secreted by activated macrophages in AIDS patients. Therefore, anti-apoptotic/antioxidant strategies should be considered, alongside antiviral strategies, in order to design a more efficient therapy for AIDS in the near future.

Cardiomyopathies and oxidative stress.

Cardiomyopathies are the group of diseases affecting the cardiac muscle. Although they have never been related to oxidative stress diseases, an analysis of the causes of these pathologies reveals the presence of a pro-oxidative agent or that the intracardiocytic balance between oxidation and antioxidation has been broken. In support of this hypothesis, we analyse the pro-oxidative factors which co-operate with other factors or by themselves to promote the development of this group of pathologies. We show also data demonstrating that the tissue and cellular damages are characteristic of an oxidative stress situation. Finally, we present evidence that in some cases of particular cardiomyopathies, the use of antioxidative strategies greatly improves the health of the patients. Therefore, we suggest that the use of antioxidants can be an alternative or complementary therapy in this group of diseases.

High blood pressure, oxygen radicals and antioxidants: etiological relationships.

This hypothesis proposes that high blood pressure is a pathological state associated with a loss of the balance between pro-oxidation and antioxidation, energy depletion, and accelerated aging in the target organs, such as heart, kidney and brain. Different nutritional, environmental, pharmacological factors and/or associated pathologies (diabetes, arteriosclerosis, cancer, alcoholism, etc.) and/or genetic components, can induce high blood pressure by breaking the redox equilibrium in the affected organs. Additional evidence, such as increase of oxidative damage, fibrogenesis, inhibition of the cardiocytic sodium-potassium pump, and heart hypertrophy, supports this hypothesis. These facts are analysed in the present paper, showing that they could contribute to the development of high blood pressure and associated pathologies by oxidative mechanisms.

[Oxidative stress and infectious pathology]. / Estrés oxidativo y patología infecciosa.

Pathogenic organism can be considered as pro-oxidant agents because they produce cell death and tissue damage. In addition organism can be eliminated by specific cell defense mechanism which utilize in part, reactive oxygen radicals formed by oxidative stress responses. The cause of the necessarily defense process results in cell damage thereby leading to development of inflammation, a characteristic oxidative stress situation. This fact shows the duality of oxidative stress in infections and inflammation: oxygen free radicals protect against microorganism attack and can produce tissue damage during this protection to trigger inflammation. Iron, a transition metal which participates generating oxygen free radicals, displays also this duality in infection. We suggest also that different infectious pathologies, such as sickle cell anemia/malaria and AIDS, may display in part this duality. In addition, it should be noted that oxidative damage observed in infectious diseases is mostly due the inflammatory response than to the oxidative potential of the pathogenic agent, this last point is exemplified in cases of respiratory distress and in glomerulonephritis. This review analyzes these controversial facts of infectious pathology in relation with oxidative stress.

Role of oxygen free radicals in altitude-related disorders.

A massive expansion of mountain tourism and the practice of sports at altitude (mountaineering, skiing, cycling, hang-gliding, parapente, etc) has been observed in the last decades. This emphasis on new forms of sports and recreation represented as a social phenomenon is accompanied by an increase in the mountain associated-disorders and related-accidents. These include headache, lassitude, pain, difficulty in breathing, rapid heartbeat, and in the worst of the cases loss of consciousness, always possible, manifest by poor judgement, fatigue, etc, and death. However, medical studies are rare, mainly because the molecular mechanisms of tissue damage induced by oxygen free radicals are still poorly understood. Therefore, the goals of the present report are: 1) to summarize the main adaptations of the body at high altitude, introducing the concepts of altitude sickness and oxygen free radicals and their relation; 2) to propose a mechanism of action of oxygen free radicals in the development of this pathology, with special attention in hypoxia and related mechanisms; 3) to suggest a role for antioxidants in the therapy of altitude-related disorders.

Oxidative stress in some dementia types.

By analogy to some pathologies (such as demyelinating diseases, arthritis and inflammatory processes) where the loss of cellular integrity is the starting point of tissue oxidative damage, it is proposed that some dementia types could be derived from a similar mechanism. The following oxidative events are proposed: (a) different agents could alter capillary or neuron integrity with the subsequent leakage of oxidases, proteases and transition metals from cellular compartments; (b) the persistence of the damaging agent, possible depletion of antioxidative defenses and concomitant loss of neuron function; (c) alteration of adjacent cells in the same manner; and (d) finally localized brain necrosis and progression of the dementia.

[Dietary intake patterns in the school health program]. / Investigación de patrones dietéticos de consumo en el programa de salud escolar.

AIM: To investigate dietary intake patterns among school-students. DESIGN: An observational prospective study. A dietary survey was used to establish how many times habitual foods were eaten each week. SITE. The population of the northern half of the city of Soria. (North Soria Health Centre). PARTICIPANTS: All the school-children aged 6 and 7 (74 boys and 57 girls in both the private and public sectors) took part in the programme. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN FINDINGS: The intake of foodstuffs was stratified as greatest in quartiles. The consumers of sweet "junk" foods also ate significantly more savory "junk" food (p = 0.00009). We found and inverse consumption relationship between savory "junk" foods and an intake of greens and root-crops (p = 0.03) and of pasta and rice (p = 0.008). The lower consumption of greens and fruits was linked to a lower consumption of fish (p = 0.023), to a lower consumption of meat (p = 0.037) and of meat products (p = 0.008). Lower consumption of eggs was linked to a greater consumption of meat (p = 0.016) and fish (p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: The consumption of savory "junk" foods and meat products can replace nutrients of a high biological value which are found in greens and root-crops. New studies to deepen the taxonomical analysis of the school diet are required. These should identify eating patterns which could endanger health in adult life.

[Cardiac diseases related to free radicals and active oxygen species. Pro-oxidation and anti-oxidation in cardiology (part 2)]. / Enfermedades cardíacas relacionadas con los radicales libres y las especies activas del oxígeno. Pro-oxidación y anti-oxidación en cardiología (2a. parte).

In this second part, we study in detail the most important cardiological diseases showing the physiopathological consideration to support the importance of the stationary equilibrium between pro-oxidation and anti-oxidation to maintain the cardiovascular health. Ischemic cardiopathy and its risk factors (lipids, smoke, blood hypertension, alcohol, etc.), anti-oxidation, different cardiac diseases (coronary insufficiency, blood hypertension, congestive heart insufficiency, cardiomyopathies), are analyzed, and finally, we make clear certain information related to the onset of nitrites tolerance phenomenon and its treatment with anti-oxidation products.

[Cardiac diseases related to free radicals and active species of oxygen. Biochemistry (1)]. / Enfermedades cardíacas relacionadas con los radicales libres y las especies activas del oxígeno. Bioquímica (1a. parte).

In the first part of this paper, a group of definitions are explained in order to understand the mechanisms groups of the most important enzymes which participate in the formations of free radicals and active species of oxygen in the heart. Furthermore, we focus on chemistry and the production of these different active species of oxygen, rounding of by giving information related to the importance of hypoxia-reoxygenation, as well as the lipidic peroxidation in the formation of oxygen free radicals. All this information provides us with a biochemical baseline to write a second part about the cardiovascular pathology related to the lack of equilibrium between pro-oxidation and anti-oxidation.

[Ambulatory aerosol therapy in the treatment of chronic pathology of the O.R.L. region]. / La aerosolterapia ambulatoria en el tratamiento de la patología crónica en la esfera O.R.L.

This study considers the efficacity of the ambulatory aerosol therapy in chronic cases of the ENT area. A nebulizer, air-jet type, of 4 microns MMAD, was the device employed, and an ample spectre antibiotic (cefotaxime) a mucolytic (N-acetyl-cysteine) plus a corticoid (methyl-prednisolone) the associated drugs. The antibiotic was discarded when otitis were the problem. The results have been favourable in 75 percent of the cases whilst negative in the resting 24 percent of the treated subjects.