Vol.6, No 1, 1999 pp. 11 - 22
UC 612.17
FREE RADICALS IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
Jasmina Mimić-Oka1, Dragan V. Simić2, Tatjana
P. Simić1
1Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine
2Institute of Cardiovascular diseases, Clinical Center of
Serbia, Beograd, Yugoslavia
e-mail: okasnik@rt270.vin.bg.ac.yu
Summary. During the past several years, there has been a growing
interest in the medical implications of free radicals. These chemical entities
are common by-products of many oxidative biochemical reactions in the cell.
Free radicals are essential to a number of normal biochemical and physiological
processes. They are too reactive to be tolerated in living tissue, and
aerobic organisms use sophisticated defense systems, enzymatic and nonenzymatic,
for prevention of overload with free radicals and peroxides. In a number
of pathophysiological conditions, the delicate equilibrium between free
radical production and antioxidant capability can be altered in favor of
the former, thus leading to oxidative stress and increased tissue injury.
It is becoming well recognized that reactive oxygen species may be important
mediators of cell injury in many cardiovascular diseases. This review concentrates
on some of the considerable biochemical evidence concerning involvement
of oxygen free radicals in several cardiovascular diseases: ischemia/reperfusion
injury, atherosclerosis and hypertension.
Since the current evidence shows that supplements and some of the cardiovascular
drugs might possess useful antioxidant capacity, strategies for minimizing
tissue injury caused by free radicals are briefly summarized.
Key words: Free radicals, oxidative stress, cardiovascular diseases,
antioxidants
SLOBODNI RADIKALI U KARDIOVASKULARNIM
OBOLJENJIMA
Kratak sadržaj: Rezultati brojnih istraživanja poslednjih godina
nedvosmisleno su pokazali da slobodni radikali imaju značajnu ulogu u humanoj
patologiji. Slobodni radikali se stvaraju u mnogim biohemijskim reakcijama
u ćeliji, i neophodni su za odvijanje brojnih normalnih biohemijskih i
fizioloških procesa. Slobodni radikali su veoma reaktivni, pa su aerobni
organizmi razvili snažan enzimski i neenzimski antioksidantni zaštitni
sistem za sprečavanje stvaranja i hvatanje slobodnih radikala. Medjutim,
u brojnim patološkim uslovima slobodni radikali se mogu intenzivnije stvarati,
pa delikatna ravnoteža izmedju stvaranja slobodnih radikala i antioksidantnog
kapaciteta ćelija i tkiva može biti naručena. Posledica je nastanak oksidativnog
stresa i oštećenja tkiva izazvana veoma reaktivnim slobodnim radikalima.
Brojni podaci ukazuju da su kiseonični slobodni radikali značajni medijatori
oštećenja ćelija i u kardiovaskularnim oboljenjima. U ovom radu rezimirani
su najznačajniji rezultati istraživanja uloge slobodnih radikala u ishemijsko/reperfuzionom
oštećenju miokarda, aterosklerozi i hipertenziji.
Dat je i kratak prikaz lekova koji se koriste u terapiji kardiovaskularnih
oboljenja, a imaju i korisne osobine antioksidanasa.
Ključne reči: Slobodni radikali, oksidativni stres, kardiovaskularna
oboljenja, antioksidansi.
