title: Assessment of Oxidative Stress in Patients with Premature Canities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Premature canities is a common, yet unexplored disorder. Oxidative stress levels have been evaluated within the greying hair follicle but not in the sera of patients with premature canities.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the oxidative stress parameters in the sera of patients with premature canities.
  
  
  METHODS
  A pilot case-controlled study, conducted in a tertiary care setup in Delhi during November 2011 to December 2012.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-two self-reporting cases of premature canities (age of onset <20 years) and 30 healthy controls were recruited from outpatient Department of Dermatology. Oxidative stress parameters (serum malonaldehyde (MDA), whole blood reduced glutathione (rGSH) and serum ferric reducing antioxidant potential [FRAP]) were assessed in cases and controls. Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the oxidative stress parameters between the two groups (SPSS version 17.0, SPSS Inc, Chicago, USA; P < 0.05 considered as significant).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The age and sex distribution of cases and controls was comparable. The mean serum levels of MDA were higher in cases than controls (3.7 ± 1.6 nmol/ml vs. 2.8 ± 1.5 nmol/ml; P = 0.01). The GSH levels were lower in the cases than controls (31.5 ± 8.9 mg/dl vs. 36.6 ± 16.9 mg/dl; P = 0.064). Similarly, the mean FRAP levels were lower in the cases than controls (400 ± 70 nmol/ml vs. 430 ± 80 nmol/ml; P = 0.038).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with premature canities had a higher level of pro-oxidants and lower levels of antioxidants than controls. This is the first humble attempt to document the oxidative stress parameters in sera of patients with premature canities, further studies with larger sample size are required to reach a definite conclusion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and STD, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Deepashree
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Daulatabad
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and STD, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singal
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and STD, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Chander
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grover
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Human Behavior and Allied Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Neelam
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chhillar
keywords: Greying of hair; oxidative stress; premature canities