Abstract
Materials & Methods: Patients with major b-thalassemia or individuals with minor thalassemia (Age range: 2-12 years and 29-46 years, respectively; n=20 each) and 20 age and sex matched control subjects were recruited. Serum glutathione (GSH) , superoxide dismutase and catalase (CAT) were determined spectrophotometrically. Data were analysed by t-test.
Results: Glutathione levels were markedly lower in patients with b-thalassemia major than in the controls (P<0.05) whilst no differences were seen in either in the activities of catalase or superoxide dismutase. On the contrary, no differences were observed in individuals with minor thalassemia .When patients with major b-thalassemia and individuals with minor thalassemia were compared a marked reduction in GSH levels and increased in CAT activity were noted in the patient group (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The data implies disturbance in antioxidant system in patients with major b-thalassemia as measured by a marked reduction of serum glutathione as the first line of defence against free radical attacks and increased in the activity of CAT. This condition eventually leads to cellular tissue damage. Antioxidant therapy may, therefore, prove useful in protecting against tissue damage.
Keywords
Major Beta-thalassemia Minor Beta-thalassemia Antioxidant Iron overload
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© 2008, Journal of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which allows for the copying and redistribution of the material only for noncommercial purposes, provided that the original work is properly cited.