Systemic and pulmonary oxidative stress in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

An oxidant/antioxidant imbalance has been proposed in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We tested this hypothesis by measuring various parameters of the oxidant/antioxidant balance in the plasma of 12 patients with IPF (7 nonsmokers and 5 smokers); in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of 24 patients with IPF (17 nonsmokers and 7 smokers) and 31 healthy subjects (23 nonsmokers and 8 smokers). The trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) in plasma and BALF was lower in nonsmoking patients with IPF (plasma 0.55+/-0.1 mM, p