Antioxidant activity levels and oxidative stress as blood markers of allergic response to drugs

Antioxidant enzymes work together in human blood cells against toxic reacti ve oxygen species. Although their relationship with several pathophysiologi c processes has been stated, not much is known about the connection between antioxidant defence and allergy. This study was designed to determine the enzymatic activities and the oxidative indices in the blood and serum prote ins in patients suffering from allergy to drugs. We hypothesize that serum and blood reactions may serve as useful clinical marker for the allergic st ate. We used enzymatic antioxidant activities, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and carbonyl contents of proteins as suitable markers. We dete rmined superoxide dismutases, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activitie s in each cell type. After antihistaminics plus steroids were given as part of a protocol treatment, enzymatic antioxidant activities, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance levels, and carbonyl contents were used as recoveri ng markers for the disease. We found a relationship between antioxidant enz ymatic activities, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance levels, and carbo nyl contents for allergic reactions belonging to several type I and type IV allergies, as well as cross-reactive intolerance to nonsteroidal anti-infl ammatory drugs and an anaphylactoid reaction to a radiocontrast media. A si milar pattern also exists for analogous allergic manifestations and disease -like status.