OXIDANT AND ANTIOXIDANT STATUS IN NEONATES WITH SPECIFIC INTRAUTERINE INFECTIONS

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate lipid peroxidation (LPO) and antioxidant defense (AOD) system in full-term and preterm neonates with specific intrauterine infections (IUI). Methods: Eighty full-term and preterm newborns with specific IUI were examined; 48 of them (60%) with a severe course of IUI, and 32 (40%) with an extremely severe IUI course. The control group included 30 relatively healthy newborns, including 22 full-term and 8 late premature (born at 34-37 weeks of gestation) neonates. The state of LPO and AOD was assessed by the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbic (AA), and sialic (SA) acids. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) of blood serum of newborns with IUI and their mothers was carried out in paired sera, with IgG, IgM, and avidity level (%) of IUI pathogens determined. Results: Analysis of epidemiological data on TORCH infection in the examined neonates revealed diagnostic titers of cytomegalovirus infection (91.3%), herpes (70.4%), toxoplasmosis (50.1%), and chlamydia (43.4%). Comparative analysis of MDA level in the first and control groups showed a statistically significant difference (p 0.05); while its comparison between the 2nd and control group showed even higher level difference (p 0.05). The levels of SOD, AA and SA in the 1st and 2nd groups were highly significantly different from the control group (p 0.001). All these tests showed significant differences between the 1st and the 2nd group (p 0.05), except for the levels of sialic acid (p 0.05). Conclusion: In neonates with specific IUI, statistically significant changes in LPO and AOD parameters were obtained compared with the control group. Enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant parameters can be diagnostically significant for early prediction of infectious processes in the body of a newborn. The revealed changes in the LPO and AOD indicators in the neonates with IUI, dictate the need for timely and adequate antioxidant therapy along with etiotropic treatment. Keywords: Homeostasis, lipid peroxidation, intrauterine infections, antioxidant defense, tricarboxylic acid cycle.