Abstract
We measured the plasma concentration of allantoin, an oxidation product of uric acid and an “in vivo” marker of free radical generation, within 24-48 h after birth in 10 premature infants who subsequently developed chronic lung disease (CLD) and 9 infants without CLD(non-CLD). The plasma allantoin level (mean ± SD, 25.9 ± 9.8μM for CLD versus 11.0 ± 5.7 μM for non-CLD,p < 0.01) and the allantoin/urate ratio (5.8 ± 2.0% for CLD infants versus 2.4 ± 0.9% for non-CLD infants,p < 0.01) were significantly higher in the CLD group than those in the non-CLD group. These observations suggest the possible involvement of oxygen radicals in triggering CLD. In addition, the plasma allantoin concentration and the allantoin/urate ratio may be useful early predictors of the development of CLD.
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Abbreviations
- CLD:
-
chronic lung disease
- RDS:
-
respiratory distress syndrome
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Drs. K. Ueki, and Y. Seiki for their kind help and discussion. Thanks are also extended to Y. Tabei and M. Imanishi for their laboratory assistance and to nursing staffs of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for their helpful assistance in sample collection.
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Supported by Grant-in-Aids (03670513, 00211128) for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan.
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Ogihara, T., Okamoto, R., Kim, HS. et al. New Evidence for the Involvement of Oxygen Radicals in Triggering Neonatal Chronic Lung Disease. Pediatr Res 39, 117–119 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199601000-00017
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199601000-00017
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