Level of nitric oxide and antioxidant vitamins in sickle cell anaemia patients

Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is characterized with sever anaemia and vasoocclussive episodes. Nitric Oxide (NO) a potential vasodilator, synthesized from various cells including endothelial cell. However SCA is associated with endothelial dysfunction, a measure cognitive factor for pulmonary hypertension (PH) and vasoocclussive crisis. The present study was attempted to evaluate level of serum NO and plasma antioxidant vitamins A, E and C in homozygous (n = 30) and heterozygous (n = 30) sickle cell patients and compared with age and sex matched healthy controls (n = 30). We found, significantly (P < 0.0001) elevated level of serum NO and significantly (P < 0.0001) depleted antioxidant vitamins in homozygous and heterozygous sickle cell patients compared to healthy controls. Our study reveals that oxidative stress may be a responsible factor for the reduced bioavailability of NO which can impair the vasodilation in sickle cell patients.