[Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and aging]

The rates of SOD in the Spanish population have been studied in an attempt to correlate them with aging. The study was comprised of 94 healthy blood donors with ages between 58 and 65 years. The findings were compared with those of 2,297 healthy normal subjects previously reported. The method of Miami and Yoshikawa was judged the technique of choice for a population study. The SOD levels found were 4.04 +/- 0.83 U/mL. Individuals from rural areas had values of 3.09 +/- 1.31 (p = 0.01), whereas subjects from urban environment showed values of 4.20 +/- 0.97 (p: ns). These figures, in the Spanish population as a whole, were 4.16 +/- 0.89, 3.81 +/- 0.9 and 4.22 +/- 0.97, respectively. The SOD rates in blood donors aged 58-65 years from the rural environment are significantly lower than those os their urban counterparts. The levels in this age-group are significantly lower than those of the general population. These findings suggest that increased SOD activity in the urban areas could result from a better protective mechanism with regard to higher concentrations of superoxide radicals which other would achieve toxic effects.