Background. There have been controversial arguments and conflicting research results about whether oxidative stress plays a role in the etiopathogenesis of acne vulgaris or it is just a consequence of the disease.
Objectives. To explore the effect of oxidative stress burden, mainly lipid peroxidation on the oxidant-antioxidant balance and on the development of acne through studying the activity of some oxidative stress markers.
Patients and methods. This study was conducted on 40 acne vulgaris patients and 36 age and sex-matched healthy controls. Patients were classified into mild, moderate, severe and very severe according to the Global Acne Grading System. Venous blood samples were taken from both patients and controls, analyzed to determine the activity of the antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), in addition to the level of malondialdehyde (MDA); a major by-product and important marker of lipid peroxidation. Different laboratory techniques suitable for each marker were used and the results were read spectrophotometrically.
Results. A highly significant decrease in mean blood G6PD, CAT, and SOD enzymes activities (P < 0.001), and a highly significant increase in mean MDA (P < 0.001) blood level were detected in acne patients compared with controls. None of the measured markers (G6PD, SOD, CAT and MDA) was found to correlate to patients' age, disease duration or severity (P > 0.05).
Conclusion. The significant decrease in the antioxidant enzyme biomarkers as well as the significant increase in the lipid peroxidation marker indicate the compromised oxidant antioxidant balance in patients with acne vulgaris. This justifies adding antioxidants to acne therapy and calls for finding a multi-biomarker scoring system for a better evaluation and monitoring of oxidative stress and its consequences.
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