[Itsenko-Cushing disease and lipid peroxidation]

In patients with Itsenko-Cushing disease a study was made of the content of lipid hydroperoxides, malonic dialdehyde, alpha-tocopherol in plasma and erythrocytes (in 31 untreated patients, in 41 patients with recurrences, in 61 patients during clinical remission and in 14 patients after bilateral adrenalectomy), in tissue biopsy specimens: of the liver (13), muscles (23), fatty tissue (30). The above indices were studied for comparison in the blood of 36 healthy persons and in tissue specimens of patients with biliary system pathology, pheochromocytomas and corticosteromas. In Itsenko-Cushing disease an elevated level of lipid peroxidation products in plasma, erythrocytes, liver, muscular tissue, and a decrease in the level of alpha-tocopherol in erythrocytes against a background of its elevation in plasma were detected. The level of alpha-tocopherol in tissue biopsy specimens was found to be season-dependent. The data obtained permitted attributing Itsenko-Cushing disease to a group of diseases characterized by the intensification of lipid peroxidation.