Desferal treatment and serum oxidant/antioxidant balance in experimentally induced chronic venous insufficiency

Background and aim: Iron ions have proinflammatory properties, and redox-active Fe can contribute to lipid peroxidation, to the activation of endothelial cells and the generation of reactive oxygen species. The increase of iron ion concentration stimulates the formation of free radicals and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). We aimed to study, in an experimental CVI model, the serum changes in the oxidant/antioxidant (O/AO) balance and the effect of Desferal administration on the O/AO balance. Material and methods: White Wistar rats were assigned to two groups: group I - with CVI, control group, (n=20 animals/group), group II - with CVI, treated with Desferal (n=20 animals/group). CVI was induced by the ligation of the common femoral vein in the right lower limb. Desferal was administered postoperatively, by intramuscular injection in the contralateral lower limb. The serum O/AO balance was determined from blood collected from the retro-orbital sinus. The indicators of oxidative stress (OS) were: malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyls (PC), oxidized glutathione (GSSG); the indicators of antioxidant defense (AO) were: reduced glutathione (GSH), ceruloplasmin (CP). Results: Experimentally induced CVI caused the following significant changes in the serum: MDA values significantly decreased after Desferal administration, while in the control group, MDA values continued to increase; after desferal administration serum PC values were significantly reduced compared to the control group; the group treated with Desferal had a significant increase of GSH values at T1, T2, T4 ccompared to control group. Conclusions: Deferoxamine administration causes an increase of serum AO on account of GSH. Deferoxamine administration in animals with experimentally induced CVI causes a decrease of serum oxidative stress on account of MDA compared to untreated animals. Our data, experimentally tested in rats, have clinical relevance, recommending the use of Desferal in the treatment of CVI.