B. Lubec et al., BRAIN LIPID-PEROXIDATION AND HYDROXY RADICAL ATTACK FOLLOWING THE INTRAVENOUS-INFUSION OF HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE IN AN INFANT, Free radical biology & medicine, 21(2), 1996, pp. 219-223
Death following peroxide administration in humans has been reported re
peatedly. Hydrogen peroxide, an odorless and clear solution is conside
red a harmless liquid and is in use for cleaning of superficial wounds
. We describe the fatal infusion of this compound by mistake leading t
o oxygen embolism and, subsequently, to death as a warning for the cli
nician. Hydrogen peroxide is suggested a major substrate for the in vi
vo production of the potent oxidizing free radical species ''hydroxy r
adical.'' No direct evidence for its in vivo production from hydrogen
peroxide has been described so far. Using the principle of o-tyrosine
determination we studied the formation of the hydroxy radical in the p
ostmortem brain of the infant given intravenous hydrogen peroxide in c
omparison to postmortem brain samples from five infants. o-Tyrosine is
formed by hydroxy radical attack on free and bound phenylalanine and
was increased twofold in the brain of the infant given hydrogen peroxi
de. The significant increase of brain malondialdehyde, a major product
and indicator of lipid peroxidation, paralleled the findings of hydro
xy radical attack, suggesting that this reactive species has been lead
ing to elevated lipid peroxidation. We propose that the generation of
lipid peroxidation and the hydroxy radical from hydrogen peroxide can
take place in humans.