ORAL ALUMINUM ADMINISTRATION AND OXIDATIVE INJURY

For a long time, aluminium (Al) has been considered an indifferent ele ment from a toxicological point of view. In recent years, however, Al has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several clinical disorders, such as dialysis dementia, the fulminant neurological disorder that c an develop in patients on renal dialysis. In the present study, the ef fect of chronic oral administration of Al on certain biochemical param eters of brain homogenate has been investigated. The feeding of test d iet for 6 wk resulted in a decrease of thiols, glutathione reductase ( GR), and adenosine Triphosphatase (ATPase). A nonsignificant decrease in peroxidation and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) was also detected in the Al-treated rats. From this study, it can be concluded that oxid ative stress is produced by the metal.