title: Increased breath biomarkers of oxidative stress in diabetes mellitus.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oxidative stress has been implicated in the major complications of diabetes mellitus, including retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy and accelerated coronary artery disease. There is a clinical need for a marker of oxidative stress which could potentially identify diabetic patients at increased risk for these complications. We measured oxidative age, a new breath marker of oxidative stress, in diabetic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three groups were studied: type 1 diabetes mellitus (n=9), type 2 diabetes mellitus (n=53) and non-diabetic normals (n=39). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath were assayed by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy to construct the breath methylated alkane contour (BMAC), a three-dimensional display of oxidative stress markers, C4-C20 alkanes and monomethylated alkanes. The collective abundance of these VOCs was reduced to a single value, the oxidative age, comprising the volume under the curve of the BMAC corrected for chronological age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Oxidative age was significantly increased in type 1 diabetes (mean=0.103, S.E.M.=0.119, p<0.01) and type 2 diabetes (mean=0.103, S.E.M.=0.047, p<0.05) compared to age-matched normals (mean=-0.248, S.E.M.=0.079). No significant correlation between oxidative age and blood glucose or hemoglobin A1C was observed in either group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oxidative age, a marker of oxidative stress, was significantly increased in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Oxidative age merits further study as a candidate marker of risk for the complications of diabetes mellitus.
authors.affiliation: Menssana Research Inc., 1 Horizon Road, Suite 1415, Fort Lee, NJ 07024, USA. mphillips@menssanaresearch.com
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Renee N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Cataneo
authors.forename: Taseer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cheema
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Greenberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000473:Alkanes / Q000032:analysis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D001944:Breath Tests; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D015415:Biomarkers; D009930:Organic Chemicals