Bratislava Medical Journal Vol.113, No.9, p.561–564, 2012

Objectives: In this study, alterations in antioxidant enzyme activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the serum samples of patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), an autosomal recessive disease characterized by recurrent episodes of peritonitis, pleuritis, arthritis and fever, were investigated and compared with those of age- and sex-matched healthy controls.
Methods: Twenty-five patients with FMF undergoing colchicine therapy at doses of 1–1.5 mg and 25 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included in the study. In the patients with FMF and control subjects, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level were measured. Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) and arylesterase (ARE) enzyme activities and MDA levels as a production of lipid peroxidation were evaluated using the appropriate methods.

Results: No statistically significant differences in the serum levels of ESR, CRP, Cu/Zn-SOD, MDA and PON-1 between the groups were observed (p>0.05).

Serum ARE activity was significantly decreased in the patients with FMF compared with the control subjects (p<0.01).

Conclusion: In conclusion, some abnormalities in the antioxidant defense system and lipid peroxidation may be observed in FMF patients during attack-free periods. However, further long-term studies on the subject are needed to explore altered lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defense mechanisms in patients with FMF (Tab. 1, Fig. 1, Ref. 35).