Changes in oxidant-antioxidant status in young diabetic patients from clinical onset onwards

Oxidative stress has been implicated as a mechanism underlying hyperglycaemia-associated cellular damage and could play a role in the development of diabetes-related complications. This study aimed to evaluate the significance of changes in oxidant–antioxidant status in 176 child and adolescent diabetic patients at clinical onset, during disease progression and when early microvascular complications appeared. Indicative lipid and protein oxidation markers and antioxidant defence activity were measured in plasma and correlated with clinical data, diabetes duration, long-term glycometabolic control and serum lipids. Compared with their respective age-matched controls, diabetic patients had greater oxidative damage to lipids and proteins, demonstrated through the analysis of hydroperoxides, lipoperoxides and oxidation protein products, all of which were significantly raised at onset, decreased during the first 1.5 years of evolution and rose progressively thereafter. Plasma levels of oxidizable lipids were significantly associated with lipid and protein oxidation products. Overall, plasma antioxidant capacity was significantly and consistently lower from clinical onset onwards. These results suggest that insulin therapy in the first year improved metabolic and oxidant homeostasis and consequently hyperglycaemia-derived biomolecular oxidative damage. Diabetes-associated hyperlipidaemia is related to lipid and protein oxidation processes, which supports the concept of glucose toxicity and lipotoxicity being interrelated. The greatest increase in lipid and protein oxidative damage biomarkers in young diabetic patients with premature microangiopathy points to oxidative stress as a possible contributing mechanism of microvascular dysfunction. Consequently, tight lipid and glycometabolic control may have therapeutic potential by diminishing oxidative tissue-damaging effects of hyperglycaemia.