Plasma paraoxonase activity in patients with systemic sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease characterized vascular damage and fibrosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible relation between systemic sclerosis and paraoxonase which is an antioxidant enzyme on the HDL.


METHODS
Twenty nine patients with SSc and 16 healthy subjects (control group) participated in the study. Plasma cholesterol levels, anti-centromere antibody (ACA) levels and paraoxonase (PON) activities were measured.


RESULTS
Lower level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was observed in ACA negative SSc patients than in controls. Paraoxonase activity in ACA positive patients was however found to increase relative to control and ACA negative patient groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggested that low HDL level in ACA negative SSc patients might be one of the factors leading to some vascular problems, and increased PON activity in ACA positive SSc group might have some role in the limitation of cutaneous sclerotic process observed in these patients. However, these preliminary findings need to be confirmed with a larger sample.
Ergüder
I B
IB
Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Ankara, Turkey. imgeerguder@yahoo.com
Erten
Sükran
S
Devrim
Erdinç
E
Turgay
Murat
M
Durak
Ilker
I
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood; D043303:Aryldialkylphosphatase / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000201:enzymology*; D014421:Turkey
D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; C538950:anticentromere antibody; D043303:Aryldialkylphosphatase