The antioxidative defense in asthma

Asthma is a disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation. Generatio n of oxygen free radicals by activated inflammatory cells produces many of the pathophysiologic changes associated with asthma and may contribute to i ts pathogenesis. However, the activities of antioxidant enzymes and their r elation with asthma have not been well defined. This study was performed to examine the activities of major intracellular antioxidants in mild asthmat ic patients. Twelve asymptomatic mild asthmatic patients who never used any antiasthma medication and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were selected. The activities of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes, superoxi de dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione-peroxidase (GSH-Px) wer e measured spectrophotometrically. The mean SOD activity of asthmatic patie nts was found to be significantly lower than that of the controls (p < 0.05 ). There was no significant difference in CAT and GSH-Px activities between patients and controls (p > 0.05). Although the mechanisms underlying the a ssociation between asthma and antioxidant system are unclear, according to our findings, decreased antioxidant protection may contribute to the pathog enesis of mild asthma.