Determination of Superoxide Dismutase Activity by the Polarographic Method of Catalytic Currents in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Aging Brain and Neurologic Degenerative Diseases

Abstract

The activity of the superoxide dismutase was measured by the polarographic method of catalytic currents in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with age-related neurologic degenerative diseases, namely, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, and of a reference group of normal subjects. The superoxide dismutase activity was found to increase with age in reference subjects (r = 0.81) while no significant correlation was found in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease patients. The activity mean values were significantly lower (P less than 0.01) in patients with neurologic degenerative diseases than in the reference subjects. The changes of superoxide dismutase activity in the aging brain and in age-related neurologic degenerative diseases are discussed.

The Role of Oxidative Stress in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease

“…On the other side, SOD activity was enhanced in the PD group, strongly suggesting an upregulation of this antioxidant enzyme in order to maintain the balance of the redox status. Previous studies showed a reduction of SOD activity in erythrocyte [21] and cerebrospinal fluid [38] in ALS whereas its activity was normal in PD [39,40]. However in these studies a potential confounder cannot be ruled out since the enzymatic rates were not age-matched.…”

Ageing choroid plexus-cerebrospinal fluid system

“…Counteracting some of these changes, CP antioxidant levels remain stable or are slightly increased in aged rats (Tayarani et al, 1989) and CSF content of the antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) increases with age (Bracco et al, 1991;Hiramatsu et al, 1992). However, brain iron levels also increase with age, yet there is no equivalent increase in transferrin synthesis to regulate this.…”

Kinetics Differ Between Copper-Zinc and Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Activity With Acute Ischemic Stroke

“…23 Alhough several previous reports have addressed temporal changes to SOD activity in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the acute phase of stroke, [24][25][26][27] little information is available on the kinetics of individual SOD isoenzymes in these patients. Bracco et al 28 reported that CSF reflects pathophysiological changes in enzyme activity in the central nervous system (CNS). The present study aimed to clarify the kinetics of CuZn and Mn SOD activity in the CSF during the acute phase of ischemic stroke.…”