[Lipid peroxidation and the antioxidant enzyme system of the gastric mucosa in peptic ulcer].

Lipid peroxidation and the activity of the antioxidant system were studied in the mucous membrane of the stomach of 60 patients with peptic ulcer. Maximum activation of lipid peroxidation was at the ulcer edges and in the surrounding mucosa. In the same regions the following changes were noted: an increase in the activity of superoxide dismutase, depression of activity of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase, a decrease in the amount of reduced glutathione and accumulation of oxidated glutathione. Activation of lipid peroxidation and disruption of activity of the antioxidant system in the mucous membrane of the stomach were considered to be important pathogenetic factors leading to a chronic and recurrent course of peptic ulcer.