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 (p0.05). 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.