The investigation of prooxidant-antioxidant balance in serum of children with family histories of essential hypertension.

It has been accepted that essential hypertension is associated with a loss of the balance between prooxidation and antioxidation. Thus, excessive oxygen free radical production may be an early event in the pathogenesis of hypertension. To compare lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system in serum of children of essential hypertensive and normotensive parents. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured spectrofluorometrically. Antioxidant activity, glutathione peroxidase, selenium levels in serum were measured as indices of antioxidant power. The peroxidation of apo B containing lipoproteins (VLDL+LDL) was measured as the susceptibility to oxidation in vitro. Serum MDA levels increased, but no marked differences in total antioxidant activity, glutathione peroxidase activity, selenium levels and VLDL+LDL oxidation were found in serum of children with family histories of essential hypertension as compared to children of normotensive parents.