[Antioxidant enzymes in acute cerebral infarction].
OBJECTIVE
Oxidative modification of DNA, protein and lipids by reactive oxygen peroxides plays an important role in acute cerebral infarction. The biological antioxidant defence system against oxidative stress is an integrated array of enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathion peroxidase (GPx). The purpose of this work was: 1. To investigate the evolution of SOD and CAT activities as possible markers of oxidative activity in patients with acute cerebral infarction. 2. To establish the relationship between the type of stroke and the activity of these two enzymes. 3. To analyze the relationship between the degree of neurological deficits of patients with stroke and SOD and CAT activities.


METHODS
This is a prospective study comprising 45 patients with acute cerebral infarction (24 females and 21 males), aged from 48 to 96. The infarcts were classified in atherotrombotics and cardioembolics. SOD and CAT activities were measured on days 1, 3, 6 and 15.


RESULTS
Activities of SOD and CAT in patients on admission were lower than those of controls and showed a gradual increase over time. The activity mean of SOD was significantly higher in cardioembolic infarctions than in atherotrombotic infarctions (p < 0.05). SOD activity was significantly lower for Mathew score > 60, while CAT activity was higher.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that there is a progressive increase in SOD and CAT activity during ictus evolution, a different activity of SOD and CAT in cardioembolic and atherotrombotic infarctions, and that there is a relationship between activity of antioxidant enzymes and Mathew's score.
Casado
A
A
Departmento de Fisiopatologia y Genética Molecular Humana, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain. acasado@cib.csic.es
de la Torre
R
R
López-Fernández
M E
ME
Gil
P
P
Egido
J A
JA
D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002374:Catalase / Q000097:blood*; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000209:etiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020766:Intracranial Embolism / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology*; D020767:Intracranial Thrombosis / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood*
D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase