Superoxide Dismutase in Psychiatric Diseases

Abstract

As with many other human diseases, oxidative stress is implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Due to high oxygen consumption and a lipid-rich environment, the brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress or redox imbalance. Both increased production of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defense disorders have been demonstrated in psychiatric patients. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is the primary, critical enzyme in the detoxification of superoxide radicals, because they are the main ROS, primarily generated in the most biological reactions of free radical formation. There are inconsistent data on this enzyme activity in patients with different psychoses. Since psychotic disorders are complex and heterogeneous disorders, it is not surprising that different authors have found that SOD activity is increased, decreased, or unchanged in the same type of psychosis. This review examines and discusses some recent findings linking SOD activity to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and Alzheimer’s disease.