A Comparative Analysis of Superoxide Dismutase 1 Level in Diabetics with and without Neuropathy

To compare superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) levels in diabetes mellitus patients with and without neuropathy.

Cross-sectional comparative study.

Multidisciplinary Lab-1 of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Army Medical College, in cooperation with Pak-Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January 2020 to January 2021.

Eighty-four subjects were enrolled through non-probability purposive sampling technique. They were further divided into three groups. Patients with diabetic neuropathy were labelled as the group Ι, and patients with diabetes mellitus without neuropathy were included in group ΙΙ. While group ΙΙΙ was comprised of healthy individuals and taken as control. Biochemical parameters included fasting blood glucose levels and HbA1c. Superoxide dismutase-1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data were evaluated by SPSS version 22.0 and presented in percentage and mean ± standard deviation (SD). Independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA followed by the post-hoc Tukey test were used for group comparison.

Mean level of SOD1 was significantly higher in group Ι as compared to group ΙΙ and ΙΙΙ (p<0.001). Statistically significant difference was observed among groups Ι and ΙΙ (p=0.002), Ι and ΙΙΙ (p<0.001), and ΙΙ and ΙΙΙ (p=0.017). Mean levels of SOD1 were also significantly increased with poor glycemic control (p<0.001).

SOD1 level was considerably high in patients with diabetes mellitus with neuropathy in comparison to diabetics without neuropathy and healthy individuals. Key Words: Diabetes mellitus, Diabetic neuropathy, ELISA, Superoxide dismutase 1(SOD1).