Oxidative stress and a thrombophilic condition in alcoholics without severe liver disease.
OBJECTIVE
The degree of oxidative stress and its association with a thrombophilic condition, if any, were investigated in alcoholics before the onset of severe liver disease.


METHODS
Reactive oxygen species and total antioxidant capacity were evaluated using two new kinetic spectrophotometric methods in a selected group of 45 consecutive chronic alcohol abusers and 42 apparently healthy moderate drinkers, used as controls. The hemostatic system was explored by detecting the plasma levels of prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1+2) and thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TAT) with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, while D-dimer plasma levels were measured with a turbidimetric immunoassay.


RESULTS
Reactive oxygen species were significantly higher (p<0.001) in heavy drinkers than in controls: 328.1 (143.4-847.2) U.CARR vs 250 (200.7-366.8) U.CARR, respectively. The total antioxidant capacity was similar in chronic alcohol abusers and in moderate drinkers: 360.2 (336.8-374.4) microMol HClO/mL vs 369 (362-378.4) microMol HClO/mL, respectively. All molecular markers of hemostatic system activation were significantly increased in chronic alcohol abusers in comparison with those in moderate drinkers, as follows: TAT: 2.5 (1.4-13) microg/L vs 1.5 (1-4.1) mocrog/L, respectively (p<0.001); F1+2: 1.7 (0.5-5.2) nMol/L vs 0.9 (0.4-1.1) nMol/L, respectively (p<0.01); D-dimer: 235.5 (208-462) ng/mL vs 163.5 (71-233) ng/mL, respectively (p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that oxidative stress and a thrombophilic condition can be observed in heavy drinkers without severe liver disease. The new test available for measuring reactive oxygen species in serum proved to be reliable and useful as an early marker of tissue damage.
Trotti
R
R
Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry, Neurological Institute C. Mondino IRCCS, Department of Neurolgical Sciences, University of Pavia, via Palestro 3, 27100 Pavia, Italy. rtrotti@mail3.telnetwork.it
Carratelli
M
M
Barbieri
M
M
Micieli
G
G
Bosone
D
D
Rondanelli
M
M
Bo
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D019851:Thrombophilia / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*
D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species