Objective: Disorders characterized by a dysfunction in neuromuscular transmission such as myasthenia gra- vis may be associated with oxidative stress. This study aimed to evaluate the role of thiol-disulfide homeos- tasis as an index of oxidative stress in adult patients with myasthenia gravis compared to healthy controls. Material and Methods: This study included 46 patients with myasthenia gravis and 46 age- and gen- der-matched healthy controls. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for thiol-disulfide homeostasis parameters, total antioxidant status (TAS), and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) using spectrophotometric and colorimetric methods. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS to compare oxidative parameters between groups. Results: Mean age of patients (24 males, 22 females) was 58.45 ± 6.32 and mean age of control subjects (25 males, 21 females) was 57.22 ± 6.51. Participants in the two groups did not differ in terms of age or gender (p>0.05 for both). Patients showed significantly lower levels of native thiol, total thiol, and TAS, and higher levels of disulfide, disulfide/native thiol percentage ratio, and IMA compared to controls (p<0.05 for all). These findings indicate increased oxidative stress and disrupted antioxidant defense in patients with myasthenia gravis. There were also significant correlations between decreased antioxidant parameters and increased oxidative stress markers (p<0.05 for all tests). Conclusion: This study confirms that thiol-disulfide homeostasis is significantly altered in patients with myasthenia gravis, highlighting its association with neuromuscular junction disease pathogenesis. Future research could expand on these findings by examining the effects of restoring redox balance in patients with myasthenia gravis.
Objective: Disorders characterized by a dysfunction in neuromuscular transmission such as myasthenia gravis may be associated with oxidative stress. This study aimed to evaluate the role of thiol-disulfide homeostasis as an index of oxidative stress in adult patients with myasthenia gravis compared to healthy controls. Material and Methods: This study included 46 patients with myasthenia gravis and 46 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for thiol-disulfide homeostasis parameters, total antioxidant status (TAS), and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) using spectrophotometric and colorimetric methods. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS to compare oxidative parameters between groups. Results: Mean age of patients (24 males, 22 females) was 58.45 ± 6.32 and mean age of control subjects (25 males, 21 females) was 57.22 ± 6.51. Participants in the two groups did not differ in terms of age or gender (p>0.05 for both). Patients showed significantly lower levels of native thiol, total thiol, and TAS, and higher levels of disulfide, disulfide/native thiol percentage ratio, and IMA compared to controls (p<0.05 for all). These findings indicate increased oxidative stress and disrupted antioxidant defense in patients with myasthenia gravis. There were also significant correlations between decreased antioxidant parameters and increased oxidative stress markers (p<0.05 for all tests). Conclusion: This study confirms that thiol-disulfide homeostasis is significantly altered in patients with myasthenia gravis, highlighting its association with neuromuscular junction disease pathogenesis. Future research could expand on these findings by examining the effects of restoring redox balance in patients with myasthenia gravis.
