Activities of superoxide dismutase in erythrocyte of nonalcoholic chronic liver diseases.

1. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was studied in erythrocyte (RBC) of 42 patients with chronic liver disease. 2. Erythrocyte SOD activities in chronic active hepatitis (CAH) and active liver cirrhosis (ALC) groups were not significantly different from that of the control. 3. Erythrocyte SOD activity in the inactive liver cirrhosis (ILC) group was significantly lower than that of the control. 4. No differences of erythrocyte SOD activity were found between CAH, ALC and ILC groups. 5. The reason underlying this finding is obscure and can probably be related to a decrease in the synthesis of SOD.