HUMAN AGING BRAIN DISORDERS - ROLE OF ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMES

In order to investigate the role of two free radical detoxificant enzy mes in patients with aging brain disorders, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities have been measured in blood from male a nd female human patients of different ages with several types of aging brain disorders. When compared with activities in the normal populati on, we have detected: 1) SOD and CAT activities are decreased in patie nts with Parkinson disease. 2) SOD activity seems to be normal and CAT activity is decreased in patients with dementia. 3) In the patients w ith stroke, SOD activity is normal, while CAT activity is decreased. S OD activity was measured in red blood cells using the Minami and Yoshi kawa method. CAT activity was measured in hemolysates by the method of Aebi. We can conclude that SOD and CAT activities in patients with Pa rkinson disease are decreased.