Abstract

Background: Lower extremity atherosclerotic disease (LEAD) is a common disease in elderly, and it is closely related to many risk factors. The oxidative stress is involved in the arteriosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate the changes of oxidative stress indexes in patients with LEAD, and discuss their relations with the disease severity and the complications.

Methods: Eighty-three LEAD patients and 40 subjects without LEAD (control group) were enrolled. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) was measured. The serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined.

Results: The serum SOD and GSH-Px levels and ABI in LEAD group were significantly lower than those in control group, respectively (p < 0.01), while the serum MDA level in LEAD group was significantly higher than that in control group (p < 0.01). There was significant difference of SOD, GSH-Px, MDA and ABI among LEAD patients with different stages, respectively (p < 0.01), with significant difference of each index between LEAD patients with and without hypertension, with and without diabetes, and with and without hyperlipemia, respectively (p < 0.01). In LEAD patients, there was positive correlation between SOD and ABI and between GSH-Px and ABI, respectively, with negative correlation between SOD and MDA, between GSH-Px and MDA and between MDA and ABI, respectively (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The changes of serum SOD, GSH-Px and MDA levels are involved in the occurrence and development of LEAD. These indexes are helpful for the diagnosis of the LEAD severity and the complications.