[Antioxidant liver enzymes in chronic liver disease]

Biopsy of the liver of 73 patients with chronic affection of the hepatobiliary system was conducted to study the enzymatic system of inactivation of the active forms of hepatic oxygen according to the stage of the chronic process. Reduced activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase and disruption of their relationship in chronic active hepatitis were revealed. Significantly diminished rate of inactivation of superoxide radicals was encountered in fibrosis and primary biliary cirrhosis. The informative importance of the catalase/NADP H-peroxidase index in appraising chronic affection of the hepatic tissue is shown. It is concluded that the interrelation of the antioxidative enzymes as a system of antioxidant protection of hepatocytes is impaired in chronic diseases of the liver.