TOTAL AND RESIDUAL ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN CHILDREN WITH MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION

Objective In the current study, we investigated the impact of oxidant overload on  plasma total antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and antioxidant gap (GAP) in seven groups of children with different types of mitochondrial dysfunction and 20 control subjects. Methods 101 children with suspicion of mitochondrial disease presented at Psichiatry Hospital Dr. Alexandru Obregia and 20 children  presented at Alfred Rusescu children's hospital have been enrolled in the study. Eight groups have been considered: group 1- with global development disorder (n=25), group 2 – with epileptic encephalopathy (n=22), group 3- with myoclonic epilepsy (n=9), group 4 - with cerebellar syndrome (n=10), and group 5 – with extrapyramidal syndrome (n=11),  group 6 – with demyelinating disease (n=13), group 7– with cranial nerves defects (n=11) and group 8– controls (n=20). Concentrations of albumin, uric acid, TEAC and GAP have been measured in  plasma  samples. Conclusion Significaly increased TEAC and GAP levels (p<0.001) were observed in controls compared with all groups of children with suspicion of mitochondrial disease. No significant changes were observed in TEAC and GAP levels between the  groups of children with suspicion of mitochondrial disease. Our results are sustaining increased oxidative stress in children with suspicion of mitochondrial disease.