Oxidative stress in patients with severe cholera

Abstract

Objective: Determine the adverse metabolic effects of oxidative stress in cholera. Oxidative stress is an adverse metabolic condition induced by the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). These ROS are produced and catabolized by specific enzymes during the normal course of metabolism. Lipid peroxidation due to ROS occurs during infection and malnutrition leading to oxidative stress and chemical injuries to the tissues. However, nothing is known about the adverse metabolic effects of oxidative stress in cholera. Methods: To assess the degree of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in patients with severe cholera, the present investigators determined the faecal contents of thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances (TBARS), an index of lipid peroxidation, in 6 adults with severe dehydrating diarrhoea due to Vibrio cholerae infections and in 5 healthy adult volunteers. These volunteers were drawn each year from the 100,000 diarrhoea patients attending the ICDDR.B's Dhaka-based hospital, the Clinical Research and Service Centre. Results: The preliminary results showed that the patients with acute cholera had significantly higher faecal concentrations of TBARS than had the healthy volunteers (9.56 ± 4.41 pmol/l for cholera patients vs. 4.03 ± 1.86 umol/1 for the controls). This observation indicates that patients with active cholera may be associated with varying degrees of oxidative stress probably due to toxin-induced alteration of mucosal metabolism involving xanthine production leading to loss of fluid and electrolytes in the diarrhoeal stool. Conclusions: Further studies will be required to characterize the metabolic abnormalities in cholera patients which may have important therapeutic implications