Antioxidant defense system in prostate adenocarcinoma and benign prostate hyperplasia of elderly patients.

UNLABELLED: Prostate adenocarcinoma (PC) and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) are age-related diseases. The augmented oxidative stress is suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of both mentioned prostate disorders. In the presented study the antioxidant defense system in PC and BPH patients has been evaluated. The study was carried out on 30 PC patients (age 61±8 years) and 30 BPH patients (age 63±8 years). The control group consisted of 25 healthy men (age 61±14 years). The reduced glutathione (GSH) concentrations in the erythrocytes and the activities of plasma superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD), plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPx-3), erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GPx-1) and erythrocyte glutathione S-transferase (GST) were measured in the examined groups. GSH concentrations in the erythrocytes and plasma GPx-3 activities in the PC group (2.31±0.27 mmol/l and 186.2±39 U/l, respectively) were significantly lower (P<0.05) as compared with the control group (2.52±0.24 and 211.8±26, respectively) and the BPH group (2.45±0.27 and 206.6±48, respectively). Erythrocyte GPx-1 activities in the BPH patients (14.76±3.5 U/g Hb) were statistically decreased (P<0.05) than in the healthy people (16.94±3.7) and in the PC patients (16.82±3.7). There were no significant differences in the activities of GST and EC-SOD between the PC group (2.72±1.34 nmol CDNB-GSH/mg Hb/min and 19.33±4.4 U/ml, respectively), the BPH group (2.53±1.00 and 19.22±4.8, respectively) and the controls (2.88±0.82 and 19.40±4.1, respectively). These results indicate that antioxidant defense system is decreased in the elderly patients with PC and BPH. The differences in the antioxidative system between examined groups of patients may suggest the different etiologies of both diseases. KEYWORDS: antioxidative enzymes, antioxidant defense system, glutathione, benign prostate hyperplasia, prostate adenocarcinoma.