Oxygen Free Radicals and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease in which ROS seems to play an important role in its pathogenesis and activity.The extent of the effect of oxygen free radicals, as measured by lipid peroxidation represented by level of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and the efficient anitoxidant activity represented by superoxide dismutase (SOD) was measured in 20 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, 10 of them rated as “active SLE” and the other 10 rated as “inactive SLE” according to SLAM.Serum MDA level was significantly elevated in the activity group as compared to the remission group. Also, serum MDA level was found to be significantly higher in both activity and remission groups when compared to the control group. Serum MDA level in the activity group correlated positively with the SLAM score.