The evaluation of the effect of depression in Behçet’s Disease on oxidative stress

Objective: Behçet’s disease (BD) was first identified by the Turkish dermatologist Hulusi Behçet as a triad of hypopyon, uveitis, and oral and genital ulcers. Evidence that free oxygen radicals play an important role in the pathophysiology of BD has been increasing in recent years. Psychosomatic symptoms are said to be present in 86% of BD patients at the time after diagnosis with depression developing afterwards. Recent studies suggest that the disorder in free radical metabolism or deficiency in the antioxidant defense system have important roles in the pathology and clinical picture of depression. We aimed to compare oxidative and antioxidative parameters in two groups consisting of BD patients and healthy controls and then in three groups consisting of BD patients with depression, BD patients without depression and healthy controls. Evaluation of the effects of depression on the oxidant/antioxidant balance in BD is important in terms of providing guidance for future studies.

Methods: A total of 34 BD patients with depression, 46 BD patients without depression and 53 control group subjects were included in our study. We measured the total antioxidant capacity (TAC), paraoxonase (PON), arylesterase (ARE), glutathione (GSH) antioxidants and malondialdehyde (MDA) oxidant levels in the blood samples obtained from the three groups.

Results: When three groups consisting of the BD group with depression, BD group without depression and the control group were compared, a significant difference was found only for the TAC and GSH antioxidants and MDA oxidant. The two-way comparisons we performed to reveal the group that created the difference showed no significant difference in TAC, ARE, GSH antioxidants and MDA oxidant between the BD group with depression and BD group without depression, indicating that the difference between the three groups was due to the control group.

Conclusions: The findings of this study show that the oxidant/antioxidant balance is disrupted in BD and oxidative stress is increased even in the inactive period. In addition, the deterioration in oxidative/antioxidative mechanisms in BD is not caused by the depression that often accompanies this disease. Our findings contribute to the information available on the pathogenesis and prognosis of the disorder while indicating the need for further studies. It will thus be possible to define the negative results of chronic disorders such as BD and provide a broader approach to the disorder during the therapeutic process.