Relationship of hydroxyurea use with total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidative stress (TOS) and antioxidant trace elements in sickle cell anemia patients

Introduction: Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is one of the most common hemoglo-binopathies in the world with autosomal recessive inheritance. Oxidative stress has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of SCA. The contribution of trace element supplements to the treatment of SCA with the use of hydroxyurea (HU) continues to be investigated. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the use of HU in sickle cell anemia and the relationship of trace elements of iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se) with oxidative stress parameters TAC and TOS. Material and method: The participants in the study were divided into 3 gro-ups: patients with SCA who used HU regularly (Group 1), patients with SCA who do not use HU or use HU irregularly (Group 2) and healthy control group (Group 3). Hemograms, biochemical analyses, TAC (total antioxidant capacity), TOS (Total oxi-dative stress), Fe, Cu, Zn and Se levels were measured. The data were compared for SCA patient groups and healthy volunteers. Results: Serum Fe levels; there were statistically significant differences between Group 1 (107,54  25,22) μg/dl, Group 2 (148,65  49,35) μg/dl and Group 3 (80,63  21,80) μg/dl (p=0,001). Cu levels; there was no statistically significant dif-ference between Group 1 (106,71  16,80) μg/dl, Group 2 (97,53  21,95) μg/dl and Group 3 (103,49  25,36) μg/dl (p=0,208). Zn levels; there were statistically signifi-cant differences between Group 1 (80,51  12,32) μg/dl, Group 2 (74,53  12,33) μg/dl and Group 3 (91,66  12,93) μg/dl (p=0,001). Se levels; there were statistically signi-ficant differences between Group 1 (81,31  12,15) μg/dl, Group 2 (59,76  15,18) xi μg/dl and Group 3 (102,26  23,50) μg/dl (p=0,001). TAC levels; there were statisti-cally significant differences between Group 1 (3,05  0,69) mmol/L, Group 2 (3,22  1,06) mmol/L and Group 3 (2,15  0,48) mmol/L (p=0,001). TOS levels; there was no statistically significant difference between Group 1 (13,26  5,55) μmol/L, Group 2 (14,40  4,76) μmol/L and Group 3 (14,98  6,44) μmol/L (p=0,416). Conclusions: TAC and TOS levels were found to be similar between SCA group using regular HU and SCA group using irregular HU or not. TAC levels were lower in the healthy control group than in the SCA patient groups. TOS levels were similar in the SCA patient groups and in the healthy control group. Trace element le-vels were found to be associated with SCA and regular use of HU in SCA. Further research on this subject is required. Key word: Sickle cell anemia, TAC, TOS, hydroxyurea, trace element