Oxidative stress, as assayed by a single test, cannot be used as a diagnostic tool

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Medical Diagnostics
• Free Radical Biology

Background:

• Oxidative stress (OS) is commonly defined as an imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants.
• While essential for normal function, OS is linked to various diseases due to oxidative damage.
• Antioxidant supplementation is often considered for individuals with OS, driving the development of diagnostic assays.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinical utility of current oxidative stress (OS) monitoring approaches.
• To determine if OS can serve as a reliable diagnostic tool for identifying individuals benefiting from antioxidant therapy.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a previous study involving over 2000 participants.
• Utilized multiple oxidative stress (OS) assays measuring various biomarkers in body fluids.
• Assessed the overlap between participant groups identified as being under OS by different methods.

Main Results:

• The expensive approach of monitoring OS via biomarker assays yields limited and inconsistent results.
• Significant discrepancies were observed, with minimal overlap between individuals classified as under OS by different assays.
• This highlights that OS cannot be quantified by a universal criterion, and methods yield different outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Oxidative stress (OS) cannot be reliably diagnosed or monitored using current biomarker assay methods.
• The lack of a universal criterion and method-dependent results prevent OS from being a valid diagnostic tool.
• The current strategy of using OS assays to guide antioxidant therapy is not supported by the findings.