Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1969374 | Clinical Biochemistry | 2011 | 6 Pages |
ObjectivesTo analyze whether the antioxidant melatonin could reduce the hyperoxidative status in the blood of patients with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy.Design and methodsTen patients aged 12.8 ± 0.9 years were treated with melatonin (60 mg at 21:00 h plus 10 mg at 09:00 h) for 9 months, and erythrocyte markers of oxidative stress were determined at 3, 6, and 9 months of treatment. Healthy age- and sex-matched subjects served as controls.ResultsPrior to treatment, the patients had higher glutathione disulfide/glutathione ratio and higher glutathione transferase and superoxide dismutase activities, and lower glutathione reductase activity than controls. After 3 months of melatonin treatment, the hyperoxidative status of these patients was counteracted, being reduced to the normal redox state between 3 and 9 months.ConclusionThese results, together with the reduction in the inflammatory process and in muscle injury recently reported in the same patients, support the efficacy of melatonin therapy in DMD patients.