Abstract
In the present work, we studied the antioxidant status in the blood of a group (n=29) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and compared it with that of a control group (n=30). There was a significant increase (p<0.001) in the plasma lipid peroxide level, but no change in the plasma ascorbic acid level, when the RA group was compared with the control group. There was a significant decrease in reduced glutathione (GSH, p<0.01) and in glutathione peroxidase (GPX, p<0.05) and superoxide dismutase (SOD, p<0.001) activities in the hemolysate of RA patients when compared with the control group values. A good correlation was obtained between the parameters estimated in the hemolysate. This study reflects the oxidative stress as a result of altered antioxidant status in the blood of RA patients, which findings may have implications in the pathogenesis of the disease.
