ANTIOXIDANT-RELATED ENZYMES IN MYOCARDIAL ZONES AND HUMAN PERICARDIALFLUID IN RELATION TO THE CAUSE OF DEATH

The aim of this work was to shed light on hypoxic and ischemic process es in the heart that may lead to irreversible or lethal myocardial inj ury. We determined malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (G SH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in human cardiac tiss ues from 45 medico-legal autopsies of persons who died from different causes. Samples were taken from three different areas of myocardium: t he anterior and posterior walls of the left ventricle, and the interve ntricular septum. We used light microscopy to examine the heart sectio ns (hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichromic stains), and studied the K+/Na+ ratio and pericardial fluid. A decrease in GSH-Px activity was found in cases with severe atherosclerosis of the coronary artery in comparison with the group with slight or moderate atherosclerosis. Pos tmortem activities of GSH-Px and SOD were significantly different in t he three myocaridal zones studied. An increase in GSH-Px activity in t he interventricular septum was noted in cases of cardiac deaths. Antio xidant-related enzymes such as GSH-Px and SOD can therefore be regarde d as new biochemical markers indicative of myocardial hypoxia. The pos sible applications to the postmortem diagnosis of the cause of death a re discussed.