Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are widely used for the treatment of COPD despite of controversial statements concerning their efficacy. The use of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a mucolytic drug with antioxidant properties, is less clear, but it may counteract the oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in COPD. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether treatment of COPD patients with ICS or NAC is able to i...

Mechanisms of burn-related cardiac dysfunction may involve defects in mitochondria. This study determined 1) whether burn injury alters myocardial mitochondrial integrity and function; and 2) whether an antioxidant vitamin therapy prevented changes in cardiac mitochondrial function after burn. Sprague-Dawley rats were given a 3 degrees burn over 40% total body surface area and fluid resuscitate...

This study's purpose was to determine if a correlation exists between cochlear antioxidant activity changes and auditory function after induction of amino-glycoside (AG) ototoxicity. Two groups of five 250-350 g albino guinea pigs served as subjects. For 28 days, albino guinea pigs were administered either 200 mg/kg/day amikacin, or saline subcutaneously. Auditory brainstem response testing was...

It is widely acknowledged that the excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) or reactive nitrogen species (RNS) induced oxidative stress will cause significant damage to cell structure and biomolecular function, directly or indirectly leading to a number of diseases. The overproduction of ROS/RNS will be balanced by nonenzymatic antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes. Polysaccharide or glycoconjuga...

Korean raspberry, Rubus coreanus Miquel (RCM), contains high concentrations of phenolic compounds, which prevent oxidative stress. To determine the effect of RCM on antioxidant capacity in humans, we assessed in vivo lipid oxidation and antioxidant enzyme activities from plasma in 15 healthy men. The subjects ingested 30 g of freeze-dried RCM daily for 4 weeks. Blood was taken at baseline and a...

BACKGROUND Mitochondrial fusion protein mutations are a cause of inherited neuropathies such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and dominant optic atrophy. Previously we reported that the fusion protein optic atrophy 1 (OPA1) is decreased in heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS We investigated cardiac function, mitochondrial function, and mtDNA stability in a mouse model of the disease with OPA1 mu...

The aim of this study was to assess the temporal patterns of (the formation of) thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and the activities of antioxidant enzymes in the erythrocytes of ten healthy adult subjects and ten oral cancer patients of comparable age. The levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and the activities of antioxidant enzymes were assayed at 6-hour intervals using co...

Several recent hypotheses consider oxidative stress to be a primary constraint ensuring honesty of condition-dependent carotenoid-based signalling. The key testable difference between these hypotheses is the assumed importance of carotenoids for redox homeostasis, with carotenoids being either antioxidant, pro-oxidant or unimportant. We tested the role of carotenoids in redox balance and sexual...

The antioxidant activity of five new compounds from a group of quaternary ammonium salts with antioxidant function has been investigated. The effect of the compounds on the degree of lipid oxidation in the erythrocyte membrane subjected to UV radiation was studied. It was found that all the salts used decreased oxidation of the lipids in the erythrocyte membrane. The antioxidant activity of the...