Oxidative stress and erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in hypertensive and ischemic patients of both acute and chronic stages

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of mortality and disability particularly in the elderly. Hypertension is the most important risk factor in strokes, representing roughly 70% of all cases. Oxidative stress is believed to be one of the mechanisms taking part in neuronal damage in stroke. It is well documented that cholinergic system plays a key role in normal brain functions and in memory disturbances of several pathological processes, such as in cerebral blood flow regulation. This study investigated the oxidative status and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in whole blood in patients diagnosed with acute and chronic stages of ischemia, as well as with hypertension. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and protein carbonylation content showed increased levels both in the acute ischemic groups and in the hypertensive group, when compared to the control. Catalase activity and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in the acute group were also higher than in the hypertensive, chronic ischemic and control groups (p < 0.05). The activity of AChE in acute ischemic patients was significantly higher than that presented by the control, hypertensive and chronic ischemic patients (p < 0.05). The hypertensive group presented AChE activity significantly lower than control and chronic groups. In spite of having a defined location the ischemic event results in a systemic disorder that induces changes, which can be detected by measuring the peripheral markers of oxidative stress and AChE activity in erytrocytes.