Oxidative stress in juvenile essential hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
Oxidative stress, an antioxidant/pro-oxidant imbalance, in patients with juvenile essential hypertension was measured via several biochemical parameters. As the blood pressure is associated with the body mass index (BMI), results were compared with those on BMI-matched controls.


METHODS
A prospective observational study at a university teaching hospital.


METHODS
Children and adolescents with essential hypertension (mean standard deviation: age 14.4 +/- 3.1 years, BMI 25.0 +/- 6.9 kg/m(2), n = 52) before any treatment, and controls with a similar BMI distribution (age 14.3 +/- 4.3 years, BMI 24.4 +/- 6.6 kg/m(2), n = 48).


METHODS
Measurements were made of the plasma levels of (1) nitrites + nitrates, an indirect measure of available nitric oxide; (2) lipid peroxidation end-products, as malondialdehydes and free thiols; and (3) the redox status of the red blood cell glutathione, as a new oxidative stress parameter.


RESULTS
There were decreased plasma levels of nitrates and increased levels of lipid peroxidation end-products in the hypertensive patients, resulting in a consistent increase in the plasma lipid peroxidation/nitric oxide ratio as compared with the controls with the same BMI (P <0.01). This ratio additionally correlated directly with both the systolic and diastolic blood pressures for the overall patient population (P <0.001). A significant glutathione depletion in the red blood cells resulted in an elevated ratio of oxidized/reduced forms with a reduced antioxidant protective capacity in the hypertensive patients versus the BMI-matched controls (P <0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The presence of systemic oxidative stress was proven in hypertensive children and adolescents, irrespective of their BMI.
Túri
Sàndor
S
Department of Pediatrics, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical and Pharmaceutical Center, University of Szeged, Korànyi fasor 14-15, Szeged H-6721, Hungary. turisand@pedia.szote.u-szeged.hu
Friedman
Aaron
A
Bereczki
Csaba
C
Papp
Ferenc
F
Kovàcs
József
J
Karg
Eszter
E
Németh
Ilona
I
D000293:Adolescent; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003971:Diastole; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005978:Glutathione / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000097:blood; D009566:Nitrates / Q000097:blood; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000097:blood; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000097:blood; D013599:Systole
D009566:Nitrates; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D005978:Glutathione; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide