The Relevance of Oxidative Stress Status in Type 2 Diabetes and the Chronic Consumption of Alcohol

To this date, the relevance of oxidative stress status in type 2 diabetes patients and in those with chronic alcohol consumption has been subject to numerous controversies in the literature, since various modifications of the oxidative stress markers have been reported in these disorders. In this context, we assessed in the present paper the oxidative stress status, by determining the specific activities of the main antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase-SOD and glutathione peroxidase-GPX) and the levels of a lipid peroxidation marker (malondialdehyde-MDA), in 80 patients diagnosed with diabetes type 2 and chronic alcohol consumption, and 14 controls, who were also chronic alcoholics, but with no diagnosis of diabetes, in order to determine alcohol influence on oxidative stress in diabetes. In this way, we observed a significant decrease for the specific activities of SOD and GPX in the group of diabetic alcoholics, when compared to the control group. Also, significant increases for the levels of MDA, as a main marker of the lipid peroxidation processes, were recorded for the group of diabetic chronic consumers of alcohol, as compared to the control group. These aspects suggest an increased oxidative stress status as a result of type 2 diabetes deficiencies and further open the field for future studies regarding the relevance of antioxidant treatment in this area of research.