A comparative study of antioxidant defenses and lipid profile in premenopausal and postmenopausal osteoporotic women

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is a condition of reduced bone mineral density (BMD) which leads to increased bone fragility and a marked increase in the risk of fractures. Postmenopausal osteoporosis affects women from one to twenty years after menopause. During these years, menopausal hormonal changes cause alterations in the serum levels of various biochemicals which reflect the bone losses. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the status of some antioxidants and lipid profile along with lipid per oxidation in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. METHOD(S): Vitamin C, glutathione per oxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), plasma malondialdehyde (pMDA) and lipid profile were estimated in the blood of postmenopausal osteoporotic women (n=56) and compared with those in the premenopausal women treated as control (n=56). RESULTS: In the postmenopausal osteoporotic women a highly significant decrease in the GPX, SOD, vitamin C and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and a highly significant increase in the pMDA, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) was observed as compared to the same in control group. A significant increase in very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-c) was also observed in the postmenopausal group. CONCLUSION: Postmenopausal osteoporotics showed lower antioxidant defenses compared to premenopausal women and oxidative stress in the study group was subsequently responsible for the oxidative injury resulting in pathology. The oxidative stress markers may be important indicators for bone loss in postmenopausal women. The mechanism underlying antioxidants and its relevance to pathogenesis of osteoporosis however deserve further research.