Impact of hyperbaric oxygenation on oxidative stress in diabetic patients

Taking into consideration that high concentration of oxygencan express toxic effects due to production of reactive oxygenspecies (ROS), the aim of our investigation was to establishthe influence of hyperbaric oxygenation on oxidative stressparameters and antioxidant enzymes in patients with diabetesmellitus (DM) type 2. Investigation included 50 patients withDM type 2 divided into two groups. The first group consistedof 25 patients, mean age 70 years, mean duration of illness 12 years and without manifest peripheral vascular complications (Wagner 0). The second group consisted of 25 patients, mean age 74 years, mean duration of illness 17 years and with manifest peripheral vascular complications (Wagner 1-5). All patients underwent the same therapeutic protocol, whichincluded 10 hyperbaric oxygenation therapies, once a day for a duration of 60 minutes, with an average partial oxygen pressure of 1.7 atmospheres absolute (ATA). In blood samples the following parameters of redox balance were determined: levels of nitrites (NO2-), index of lipid peroxidation (TBARS), superoxide anion radical (O2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase(CAT).Our results clearly show that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2)therapy does not have a pro-oxidative effect. Additionally, itseems that this procedure strongly mobilized the antioxidantenzyme system, thus improving defense from oxidative damage.All significant data are marked as P<0.05. Our results haveshown that in terms of ROS production, HBO2 can besafe to use in patients suffering from DM type 2 with orwithout vascular complications.