Protective Effects of Antioxidants Against Rheumatoid Arthritis-Induces Lipid Peroxidation and Glutathione Depletion

The effects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and antioxidant therapy for 10 days with vitamin E, Vitamin C and vitamin A on serum lipid peroxidation (MDA content), glutathione (GSH) content, glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity, glutathione reductase (GSR) activity, both total and selenium dependent glutathione peroxidase (GSI-I-Px) activities were tested in 18 rheumatic patients. RA patients had increased MDA content, and index of lipid peroxidation, depleted GSH levels, elevated GST activity and inhibited GSR and GSI-I-GSI-I-Px activities, as compared to 20 healthy subjects. Supplementation with vitamin E decreased MDA content, elevated GSI-I levels, GSR and GSI-I-Px activities after 5 days of therapy. Vitamin C supplementation did so only after 10 days of therapy, while treatment with vitamin A showed no significant changes in these parameters compared to pretreatment levels The results suggest that antioxidant therapy may afford some protection against oxidative stress associated with RA