Relationship between antioxidant capacity and oxidative stress in children with acute hepatitis A

AIM: To investigate in children with acute hepatitis A. According to our knowledge, there are no data about the blood levels of malondialdehyde (MDA, an indicator of oxidative stress) and nonenzymic antioxidants in children with acute hepatitis A. METHODS: Whole blood MDA and reduced glutathione (GSH), serum beta-carotene, retinol, vitamin E and vitamin C levels were studied in 19 (10 females, 9 males) children with acute hepatitis A and in 29 (13 females, 16 males) healthy control subjects. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between patients and controls for all parameters (P < 0.05). Lipid peroxidation marker MDA was significantly elevated (P < 0.001), while antioxidants beta-carotene, retinol and GSH were significantly decreased (all P < 0.001) in patients compared to healthy subjects. In addition, a-tocopherol and ascorbic acid levels were significantly lower in patients when compared to age and sex matched controls (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that hepatitis A virus induces oxidative stress in childern with hepatitis A. This finding could be taken into consideration to improve the therapeutic approach in acute hepatitis A. (C) 2006 The WJG Press. All rights reserved.