[Changes in superoxide dismutases and serum Zn, Cu in senile patients with yang deficiency]

This article reports on the respective determinations, which employ RIA and AAS, of superoxide dismutases (SOD-I) and serum Zn, Cu from 40 cases of senile patients with Yang deficiency. The results, which 994 +/- 125 ng/mg Hb, 63.6 +/- 12.1 micrograms%, 72.6 +/- 10.7 micrograms% respectively, were all significantly lower than the normal subjects and senile subjects (P less than 0.01), and showed that serum Zn was positively interrelated with SOD-I (r = 0.34). Integrating SOD-I and the function of serum Zn, Cu in senile especially the relations between Zn, Cu and SOD-I, the authors have made a preliminary probe into the mechanism of senile Yang deficiency's occurrence.