Diseases related to oxygen-derived free radicals

Abstract

Oxygen-derived free radicals are very important mediators of cell injury and death. Not only are these highly reactive chemical species important in the aging process, but they are either directly or indirectly involved in a wide variety of clinical disorders, such as atherosclerosis, reperfusion injury, pulmonary toxicity, macular degeneration, cataractogenesis, and cancer. In addition, they play an important role in chronic granulomatous disease and act as secondary sources of cellular injury in chronic granulomatous disease and act as secondary sources of cellular injury in chronic inflammatory processes and several disorders of the central nervous system. Furthermore, a wide variety of drugs and xenobiotics are themselves either converted to, or stimulate the formation of, free radicals. Prevention and/or treatment of many of these disorders may be possible by appropriate antioxidant therapy, either currently available or to be discovered through continued research.