Allergic contact dermatitis is accompanied by severe abnormal changes in antioxidativity of blood

We investigated whether the oxidative stress (OS) caused by skin inflammation could reflect in the blood, in a 21-year-old female student sensitized to nickel, colophony and abitole with often relapsing allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). As glutathione redox ratio was increased in the blood not only during the relapse but also in the beginning of remission phase, we prescribed natural medical preparations of D-alpha-tocopherol (in the first week 100 mg three times a day followed by 100 mg/day) and ascorbic acid (200 mg/day) for 25 days to her. After using antioxidants in the remission period, one of the principal OS markers-the glutathione redox ratio reached the normal physiological level. In this report, we showed that during acute extensive ACD OS is expressed in the blood and simultaneous supplementation of D-a-tocopherol and ascorbic acid might reduce systemic OS. (C) 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.