Abstract
Objective: As oxidative status may be an influential factor for increasing the progress of the disease and decreasing the effectiveness of the treatment, the aim of this study was to measure the oxidative stress and anti-oxidative markers among Saudi patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) versus nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Methods: This study was carried out on a sample of 150 consecutive patients (75 with CHC and 75 with NASH), selected from gastroenterology outpatient clinic, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Also, this study included 75 healthy volunteers, mostly, relatives of the patients who came with them to the clinic. Measurements of oxidative stress and anti-oxidative stress markers were measured for all participants.
Results: The mean values of oxidative stress markers included conjugated dienes (CD), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were significantly elevated in patients with CHC and patients with NASH when compared with Healthy controls group. Also, these parameters were significantly elevated in patients with NASH than patients with CHC. However, the mean values of anti-oxidative stress markers include glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), arylesterase (AE) and paraoxonase (PON) were significantly reduced in patients with CHC and patients with NASH when compared with Healthy controls group. Also, these parameters were significantly reduced in patients with NASH than patients with CHC.
Conclusion: In this study, patients with NASH have higher levels of oxidative and lower anti-oxidant markers than patients with CHCs.