Oxidative stress factors and C-reactive protein in patients with oral lichen planus before and 2 weeks after treatment

OBJECTIVES: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an inflammatory disease with an unknown origin. Oxidative stress is suspected to play a role in its pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum levels of oxidative stress factors and C-reactive protein in patients with OLP. MATERIALS & METHODS: In this case-control study, 25 patients with OLP and 23 control subjects were enrolled. Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), malondialdehyde (MDA), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were investigated in both groups. In case group, all these factors were re-evaluated after 14 days of treatment. The characteristics of the lesions were also recorded at each visit. RESULTS: Serum levels of MDA were significantly higher (P = 0.009), and TAC was significantly lower (P < 0.001) in patients with OLP. There were no significant differences between serum levels of TAC, CRP, and MDA in patients with OLP before and after treatment (P = 0.174, P = 0.556, P = 0.194, respectively). However, the difference in serum levels of TAC between erosive and atrophic patients with keratotic OLP was significant (P = 0.024). CONCLUSION: We concluded patients with OLP have increased of serum MDA and the decrease of serum TAC compared with the healthy subjects, and 14-day treatment of OLP did not have any effect on serum levels of oxidative stress factors.