Lipid peroxidation and the activity of some antioxidant enzymes in patients with systemic vasculitides treated with corticoids.

The level of lipid peroxidation and the activity of superoxide dismutase and of catalase as antioxidant enzymes were studied in 54 patients with systemic vasculitides with autoimmune pathogeny as well as in a control group of patients of the same age and sex. The patients were distributed into a group without treatment, a group treated with prednisone and a group treated with prednisone and vitamin E. Lipid peroxidation is attenuated by the addition of vitamin E while the activity of the antioxidant enzymes studied in the same groups of patients is not significantly changed. The treatment with prednisone did not change the level of peroxides neither the activity of the antioxidant enzymes studied.