Serum selenium level and glutathione peroxidase activity in steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome.

In our previous study the pattern of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity in the course of steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) in children suggested a defect in antioxidant defense. In the present report the serum selenium (Se) level, an essential component of GPX activity, was measured in a comparable group of children with SSNS at the same clinical stages at which GPX activity was determined in the previous study. Nephrotic children had normal serum Se levels during the edematous stage, at the end of prednisone treatment, and in remission. At the end of high-dose prednisone treatment, the serum Se level increased ( P<0.01) simultaneously with enhanced activity of GPX. These results suggest that children with SSNS have a persistent defect in the antioxidant defense at the important stage of hydrogen peroxide and fatty acid hydroperoxide decomposition. This defect is transiently alleviated by high-dose prednisone treatment.