Oxidative Stress in Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome

The objective of this study was to investigate the total antioxidant status (TAS) and DNA damage markers of serum and aqueous humor in patients with pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome. Twenty-seven cataract patients with PEX and twenty-seven without PEX syndrome were included in the study and groups were matched for age and gender. Patients had no elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) or glaucoma. Aqueous humor and serum samples were taken at the time of surgery and TAS and 8-hydroxy-2´-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG) levels of all samples were determined by spectrophotometric and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods, respectively. Mean 8OHdG concentration in the PEX aqueous (3.34±1.93 ng/ml) and serum (17.63±6.78 ng/ml) samples were significantly higher than that measured in the control aqueous (1.98±0.70 ng/ml) and serum (13.63±3.54 ng/ml) samples, respectively (P=0.002, P=0.010). TAS of serum (0.60±0.15 vs. 0.70±0.14 mmol/lit, P=0.022) and aqueous humor (0.33±0.13 vs. 0.34±0.15 mmol/lit, P=0.003) in PEX patients were lower than that of the control group. The increased 8OHdG levels in the aqueous humor and serum of PEX patients suggests that oxidative DNA damage may play a role in the pathophysiology of PEX.