The Role of Total Antioxidant Status in Cerebral Vasoreactivity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Marina Hlavati*; Svetlana Tomić; Krunoslav Buljan; Silva Butković-Soldo

doi:10.26332/seemedj.v4i2.145

Marina Hlavati* Department for Diagnostic and Therapeutical Procedures-Neurology Unit, General Hospital Našice, Croatia; Faculty of Medicine Osijek, University Josip Juraj Strossmayer Osijek, Croatia http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7931-2423
Svetlana Tomić Faculty of Medicine Osijek, University Josip Juraj Strossmayer Osijek, Croatia
Krunoslav Buljan Faculty of Medicine Osijek, University Josip Juraj Strossmayer Osijek, Croatia
Silva Butković-Soldo Faculty of Medicine Osijek, University Josip Juraj Strossmayer Osijek, Croatia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26332/seemedj.v4i2.145

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with an oxidant-antioxidant imbalance. COPD patients have impaired cerebral vasoreactivity (CVR). Impaired CVR could be correlated with total antioxidant status (TAS) in plasma.

Aim: Determine the role of systemic TAS in CVR of COPD patients.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, we included 120 participants (mean age 67±7.9, 87 males), 90 COPD patients divided according to airway limitation severity in mild, moderate, severe/very severe and 30 age and sex-matched controls. We analyzed baseline mean flow velocities (MFV) of middle cerebral artery (MCA) and basilar artery (BA), mean breath-holding index (BHI_m) of those arteries (BHI_mMCA and BHI_mBA) by transcranial Doppler ultrasound and TAS in plasma. The level of significance was set to α=0.05.

Results: In COPD, we found a significant negative correlation between TAS and BHI_mBA (Rho=−0.327, P=0.002). In mild COPD we found a significant negative correlation between TAS and BHI_mBA (Rho=−0.445, P=0.01). In COPD, baseline MFV BA is in a significant positive correlation with BHI_mMCA and BHI_mBA (Rho=0.336, P=0.001 and Rho=0.647, P<0.001). In COPD, we found a significant positive correlation between baseline MFV BA and BHI_mBA: in mild (Rho=0.731, P<0.001), moderate (Rho=0.574, P=0.001) and severe/very severe (Rho=0.398, P=0.03).

Conclusions: Systemic TAS was not correlated with the CVR in all COPD groups. However, perfusion in BA of COPD was in a significant positive correlation with the anterior and posterior CVR. The analysis of perfusion in the basal cerebral arteries should be part of a future study of CVR in COPD patients.