Elevated serum superoxide dismutase and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in different phases of bipolar disorder and in schizophrenia

Abstract

There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting that oxidative stress may play a role in the pathophysiology of both schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). Methods: We compared the antioxidant enzyme, serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the lipid peroxidation product, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as assessed in depressed (N = 21), manic (N = 32) and euthymic (N = 31) bipolar patients, and in chronically medicated patients with schizophrenia (N = 97), all fulfilling DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, and a group of healthy controls (N = 32). Results: Serum SOD (U/mg protein) activity was significantly increased (p < 0.001) in manic (7.44 ± 3.88) and depressed (6.12 ± 4...