INCREASED LIPID-PEROXIDATION IN CHILDREN WITH AUTOIMMUNE-DISEASES

To examine the role of oxidative damage in children and adolescents wi th autoimmune diseases, we compared blood serum levels of the lipid pe roxidation (LPO) products 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) and malondialdehyde ( MDA) in 22 children with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 13 childr en with focal type of scleroderma, and 21 healthy controls. In order t o study the influence of disease activity in SLE on serum LPO product levels, the SLE group was divided into one group with active disease ( n = 11) and one group with non-active disease (n = 11) according to SL EDAI-score, 15.1 and 1.8, respectively. SLE patients with active SLE ( 146 +/- 14 nmol/l, median 145 nmol/l) have significantly higher HNE le vels compared to controls (61 +/- 10 nmol/l, median 52 nmol/l), wherea s the MDA serum levels are similar to those of the control group, 1.94 +/- 0.18 mu mol/l (median: 2.02 mu mol/l) and 1.58 +/- 0.11 mu mol/l (median: 1.52 mu mol/l), respectively. Children with SCL had HNE and M DA levels similar to the control group.