Thiol-disulphide homeostasis in patients with general anxiety disorder and panic disorder

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamic thiol-disulphide homeostasis as a novel oxidative stress parameter in newly diagnosed and medication-naive general anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder (PD) patients. Method: Medication-naive patients with GAD (n=21) or PD (n=23) and healthy individuals (n=23) were enrolled. Patients were administered a sociodemographic form, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory. Routine biochemical parameters, native thiol, total thiol, and disulphide parameters were measured in all patients and healthy individuals. Results: The native thiol levels of the GAD and PD groups were found significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.001 and p=0.03, respectively), whereas the disulphide levels and disulphide/native thiol ratios of both patient groups were significantly higher than that of the control group (p<0.001 and p=0.011, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference between the GAD and PD groups with regard to thiol and disulphide levels. Conclusion: Oxidative stress is considered to be one of the molecular changes underlying the pathogenesis of GAD and PD. This study showed that dynamic thiol-disulphide homeostasis was disturbed due to an increase in oxidants and a decrease in antioxidants in GAD and PD patients, suggesting that antioxidant replacement interventions might be an option in the treatment of these disorders.