Antioxidant status in different regions of heroin addicts’ brain

Abstract

Heroin is an illicit narcotic abused by millions of people worldwide. In the present work, we estimated peroxyl radical-trapping capacity (PRTC), oxidative stress markers – malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl groups, as well as antioxidant enzymes – superoxide dismutase and catalase, in different regions of brain. Studies conducted on nine brains from heroin abusers and eight from control subjects revealed a decrease in PRTC in each part of heroin intoxicated brains and an increase in lipid peroxidation in brain cortex, brain stem and white matter but not in hippocampus. Protein oxidation was increased in hippocampus and in brain stem, but it was unchanged in gray and white matters. Superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were unchanged in heroin addicts. We conclude that heroin intoxication changes the antioxidant status in human brain by increasing the amount of organic rather then inorganic peroxides. The most severe condition of oxidative stress occur in brain stem.