To study the role of active oxygen species in tissue injury in rheumatoid arthritis.
We examined the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and antioxidants of the first line antioxidative defence of the organism, i.e. vitamin E (VE) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the blood of 74 young patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and in 138 healthy children, all aged 3-15.
A statistically significant increase of TBARS was found in the blood plasma of the children with JRA compared with the control group. In the whole group of patients and in the patients over 6 years of age, the VE concentration was in the red blood cells (RBC) was significantly lower in children who had suffered from JRA for more than one year and in those with the systemic form of the disease. The type of treatment also affected the values for the plasma VE and SOD in the RBC.
Our results seem to confirm the supposition of increased oxidative stress in children with JRA and low antioxidant levels in terms of SOD activity and vitamin E concentrations.