Lipid peroxidation, plasma antioxidant micronutrients in Crohn disease
There is a very important take home message here in this article. The article assesses the antioxidant status of patients with Crohn’s disease and finds high levels of oxidative stress. A few things to consider here. First, it is not determined whither the source of the stress. Do patients with Crohn’s absorb antioxidants poorly from the diet or does the overall inflammatory state tax the body’s reserves of antioxidants? Either way, a patient with Crohn’s should take care to keep high levels of antioxidants in their system. Another take home point (and a very important one) is that the oxidative stress was present in study participants even though their symptoms were currently low and 78% were medicated. Current pharmacological management of this disease, based on this study, is symptomatic and does not address underlying factors. Surprised?
AJCN — Abstracts: Wendland et al. 74 (2): 259