Relation of Protein Oxidation Parameters and Disease Activity in Patients with Behcet's Disease

Background: Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory vasculitis characterized by endothelial dysfunction, elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS), and neutrophil hyperfunction production including acute attacks and remission periods. Ischemia modified albumin (IMA), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), prooxidants-antioxidants balance (PAB), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were evaluated in regard to their role in the pathogenesis of BD as well as their relation to clinical presentation, uveitis attacks and remission periods, and healthy volunteers. Methods: The study included 28 BD cases and 27 healthy volunteers as the control group. Blood samples were taken twice from each patient; first during an attack and second about three months after an attack, during remission period. Results: AOPP, IMA and PAB levels were significantly increased in active periods of patients with BD compared with healthy control and remission periods of patients with BD (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, respectively). FRABP levels were found to be lower in active periods of patients with than healthy controls and remission periods of patients with BD (p < 0.001, p < 0.05, respectively). The AOPP levels were negatively correlated with the levels of FRAB in patients (r = -0.468, p = 0.012; r = -0.394, p = 0.038, respectively). The PAB levels were positively correlated with the levels of CRP in patients (r = -0.606, p = 0.001). Conclusions: Our results show that these parameters play a major role in the inflammatory reactions observed in BD. Increased levels of IMA and PAB are likely to be a result of inflammation-induced oxidative stress and hence its potential significance as a new marker of oxidative stress in BD.