Evaluation of serum oxidative stress in patients with oral lichen planus

Abstract

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory oral mucosal disease of unknown etiology. Free radicals have been considered recently as the etiology of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the stress oxidative status with nitric oxide (NO) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) index in an Iranian population. Methods: In a descriptive-comparative study, NO and MDA serum level test was prescribed for 20 OLP patients and 20 healthy individuals. Collected data were analyzed using two sample T-test and using SPSS 16 statistical software. Statistical significance level was set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean NO serum levels in OLP patients and healthy controls were 17.1 3.4 ng/ml and 14.5 2.7 ng/ml, respectively, demonstratinga significant difference (P= 0.009). The mean MDA serum levels in OLP patients and healthy controls were 2.9 2 and 2.4 1.3? g/ml respectively. It should state that MDA index mean in oral lichen planus patients was more than healthy individuals but this difference is not statistically significant (P=0.6). Conclusions: Higher serum levels of NO in patients with OLP support the notion that the role of NO in activation process of lymphocytes and cellular immunity systemmay ascribe to pathogenesis of lichen planus. Serum level of MDA in patients stricken by oral lichen planus was not statistically significant in comparison to healthy individuals. Therefore, MDA role in cellular damage and pathogenesis of oral lichen planus was not proved.