title: Enzymatic antioxidants status in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oxidative stress (OS) has been thought to play a main role in the etiopathogenesis of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), which is one of the most common oral mucosal diseases characterized by recurrent and painful oral ulcers. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the enzymatic antioxidants status in patients with RAS in the active stage and remission stage.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-seven patients with idiopathic minor RAS and 102 race-, age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were recruited. All these subjects were allocated to three groups: RAS patients with active lesion (group A); the same patients in group A in the remission stage of RAS (group B); and healthy individuals without RAS (group C). Following an overnight fast, blood samples were obtained. The serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) were measured by the spectrophotometric method. Independent-samples t-test and paired t-test were performed for statistical evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum levels of SOD, GSHPx, and CAT (83.9 ± 17.1 U/ml, 6687.2 ± 2629.2 U/ml, 1789.7 ± 593.8 U/l) were found to be significantly lower in group A as compared to those of group B (99.8 ± 11.1 U/ml, 9364.1 ± 1607.9 U/ml, 2789.1 ± 1113.4 U/l; P < 0.05) or group C (97.3 ± 12.1 U/ml, 9246.2 ± 2376.1 U/ml, 2819.0 ± 914.8 U/l; P < 0.05). No significant differences were found between group B and group C with respect to any one of these enzymatic antioxidants (P > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that enzymatic antioxidant defense system is impaired in RAS patients with active lesion and seems to play a crucial role in its pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, China.
authors.forename: Zichuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Outpatient, Bethune Military Medical School, Shijiazhuang, China.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, Bethune International Peace Hospital, Shijiazhuang, China.
authors.forename: Huiqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D013281:Stomatitis, Aphthous / Q000201:enzymology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants
keywords: enzymatic antioxidants; oxidative stress; recurrent aphthous stomatitis