Superoxide dismutase and catalase anti-oxidant activity in leucocyte lysates from hypertensive patients: effects of eprosartan treatment

Introduction. In an earlier study, our group reported that circulating leucocytes in hypertensive (HT) patients show a significant increase in oxidative stress compared to the control group, and this normalised after two months of treatment with eprosartan.¹ It can be speculated that these facts may be attributable to a possible reduction in anti-oxidative activity in untreated HT patients, which would be corrected by eprosartan.

Materials and methods. In this observational pilot study, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were evaluated in leucocyte lysates in a group of 21 HT patients at baseline and after two months of treatment with eprosartan (600 mg/ day). For the control group, 25 normotensive volunteers were recruited with comparable characteristics to the patients.

Results. The results obtained indicate, paradoxically, that the untreated HT patients present greater anti-oxidant enzyme activity than the control group.

Conclusion. This result could be interpreted as a cell defence mechanism against the greater oxidative stress that exists in these patients.This hypothesis is consistent with the facts reported previously by our group in which a reduction in oxidative stress was found after two months of treatment with eprosartan. ¹ Upon reducing this stress, less anti-oxidative activity would be necessary, just as was observed in the present study after two months of treatment with eprosartan.