Measurable serum markers of oxidative stress response in women with endometriosis

Objective: To evaluate the hypothesis of increased systemic oxidative stress in patients with endometriosis. Setting: Tertiary care university hospital. Design: Cross-sectional study. Patient(s): Sixty-six women of reproductive age undergoing laparoscopy. Intervention(s): All women were investigated for endometriotic foci during laparoscopy. Forty-five women had laparoscopically and histologically confirmed endometriosis, and 21 women did not have endometriosis. Main Outcome Measure(s): Four markers of oxidative stress were assessed in the serum of each patient: heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), HSP70b', thioredoxin (TRX), and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA). Result(s): Mean serum HSP 70b' level was higher in patients with endometriosis compared with controls (0.178 ng/mL, SD 0.103, and 0.135 ng/mL, SD 0.014, respectively). The disease stage did not affect HSP70b' levels. Heat shock protein 70, IMA, and TRX levels did not differ between patients with endometriosis and controls. Women with a history of arterial hypertension had higher mean IMA levels compared with women with normal blood pressure independently of the presence of endometriosis (106.7 [SD 25.4] U/mL and 85.0 [SD 11.5] U/mL, respectively). Concluslon(s): Endometriosis is associated with increased systemic oxidative stress. The implication of increased systemic oxidative stress in disease progression or the association with other oxidative stress-related pathologic conditions needs to be addressed in further studies. (Fertil Steril (R) 2009;91.:46-50. (c) 2009 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)