[Relationship between oxidative stress and depression in patients with acute leukemia]

This study was aimed to investigate the relationships between oxidative stress and depression in patients with acute leukemia. Ninety two cases of acute leukemia were randomly enrolled in the study. Depressive disorder was assessed by self-rating depression scales (SDS) and multiple items questionaires. The total anti-oxidation capability (T-AOC), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, as well as malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels were measured in pre-treatment periods. Meanwhile, the steady state level of human 8-hydroxyguanine glycosylase (hOGG1) mRNA transcript was monitored by quantitative real-time PCR. The results showed that the defence of antioxidant system was impaired in patients with acute leukemia. The incidence of depression was 47.83% in 92 cases. T-AOC and SOD activities were significantly decreased in patients with depression, while ROS, NO, MDA levels and hOGG1 mRNA expression were reverse of the former. It revealed that depression positively correlated with course of disease and hOGG1, and negatively correlated with T-AOC. It is concluded that oxidative damage occurs in patients with acute leukemia, moreover, lower antioxidant defences exist in depressive patients. These results underscore the notion that oxidative stress may promote the development of depression.