[A study of free radical defense and oxidative stress in the sera of patients with neuroimmunological disorders].

Free radicals are molecules that contain at least one unpaired electron and by nature are highly reactive and potentially destructive. Free radical damage can play an important role of demyelination. Glutathione peroxidase, which plays a role in free radical defenses, and myeloperoxidase and lactoferrin, which are considered to reflect the strength of oxidative stress, were examined by monoclonal antibody-based enzyme immunoassay on serum samples taken from patients with neuroimmunological disorders, namely, 35 multiple sclerosis(MS), and 2 Baló disease, 10 Guillain-Barré syndrome(GBS), and 25 human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 associated myelopathy (HAM). The levels of glutathione peroxidase in active phase of MS (8.37 +/- 5.59 micrograms/ml: p < 0.05) were increased rather than in inactive phase (5.05 +/- 2.44 micrograms/ml) and control (5.41 +/- 1.40 micrograms/ml), the levels of myeloperoxidase in HAM (95.5 +/- 89.1 ng/ml: p < 0.05) were increased rather than in controls (21.5 +/- 4.1 ng/ml), and the levels of lactoferrin were not significantly increased than in other disease and control. Moreover the levels of myeloperoxidase and lactoferrin are increased in Baló disease (myeloperoxidase 487, 762 ng/ml; not significant, lactoferrin 2.58, 2.77 ng/ml; not significant) than in control (myeloperoxidase 21.5 +/- 4.1 ng/ml, lactoferrin 0.69 +/- 0.32 ng/ml). In conclusion, we have here first demonstrated that the levels of these enzyme were not paralleled in MS and Baló diseases. In GBS the levels of all these enzyme were not increased. Thus, these findings suggest that these enzyme may play an important role of the disease activity of Baló, and may reflect the activity of the defense of MS.