The significance of the peroxides increase in the plasma of the patients with liver failure.

200 patients with varied types of liver failure were biochemically and clinically investigated. Beside the usual biochemical analyses (transaminases, glutamyl transpeptidase, triglycerides, bilirubin), some special parameters such as lipid peroxides, glutathione, ceruloplasmin and the total antioxidative capacity of plasma were measured. High levels of lipid peroxides appear especially in severe cases of liver failure such as acute viral hepatitis, coma. The persistence of a high level of peroxides in plasma suggests the presence of severe, irreversible lesions. The increase of peroxides in the plasma is mainly due to the overridden production of antioxidative systems, localized especially in the liver. In severe liver failure, the mechanism of the increased formation of peroxides seems to involve bilirubin, due to induction of liver heme oxygenase. The data presented showed inverse correlations between the increase of peroxides and the decrease of glutathione and ceruloplasmin.