Iloprost therapy acutely decreases oxidative stress in patients affected by systemic sclerosis

Oxidative stress has been considered a leading factor in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Consistently with this hypothesis the determination of urinary isoprostanes, a reliable method for evaluation of oxidative stress, has recently showed increased levels of isoprostanes in SSc patients. Data about the effect on oxidative stress of accepted therapies for SSc such as iloprost therapy are lacking. The aim of this prospective study was to verify whether iloprost therapy in patients with SSc acutely reduces oxidative stress assessed by determination of 8-Iso PGF2alpha urinary levels. urine samples were obtained before and after a five-day cycle of iloprost infusion and urinary 8-Iso PGF2alpha levels were determined using a commercially available enzyme immunoassay. Consistent with previous reports, we found an increased level of oxidative stress in SSc patients with respect to healthy controls. Basal urinary 8-iso PGF2alpha levels in SSc patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls [2002(1122-3575) pg/mg creatinine vs. 334(225.7-441) pg/mg creatinine, p