oxidative stress and the anti-oxidant mechanisms in patients with vitiligo in relation to the duration and severity of the disease

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease. Previous studies showed that the progress of auto-immune diseases may be related to oxidative modification of cellular structures by free radicals, and at least partly depends on the concentration of antioxidants at critical cellular sites. The present work was arranged to evaluate the alterations in oxidative stress as measured by plasma and red blood cells Malondialdehyde [MDA] and the changes in antioxidant mechanism as measured by plasma and red blood cells Glutathione [GSH] in patients with vitiligo, in comparison to a healthy control group. These changes were studied according to the severity and duration of the disease. Fifty patients with vitiligo were included in this study. The severity of the disease was graded according to the rule of nine into three grades [mild, moderate, and severe]. Duration of the diseases was graded into 2 grades [less than 6 months and equal or more than 6 months]. Plasma and red blood cells Malondialdehyde [MDA], and plasma and red blood cells Glutathione [GSH] were assessed in all patients. The results showed that plasma and red blood cells Malondialdehyde [MDA] were high in mild cases and in the early course of the disease, while they were low in severe and chronic cases. Plasma Glutathione [GSH] was low in mild and acute cases while it reached near to normal levels in chronic and extensive cases. Free radicals are high in mild, and in the early course of the disease in patients with vitiligo, and near to normal in chronic, generalized vitiligo. Similarly, the antioxidants are low in mild, and in the early course of the disease in patients with vitiligo, and near to normal in chronic, generalized disease