Ischemia/reperfusion unveils impaired capacity of older adults to restrain oxidative insult

Sean S. Davies, Tinna Traustadóttir, Anthoney A. Stock, Fei Ye, Yu Shyr, S. Mitchell Harman, L. Jackson Roberts

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Age independently predicts poor outcome in a variety of medical settings, including sepsis, trauma, severe burns, and surgery. Because these conditions are associated with oxidative stress, we hypothesized that the capacity to constrain oxidative insult diminishes with age, leading to more extensive oxidative damage during trauma. To test this hypothesis, we used suprasystolic inflation of an arm blood pressure cuff to safely induce localized forearm ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) and quantified plasma F2-isoprostane (IsoP) levels in serial blood samples. Before I/R, IsoP levels were similar in young (20-33 years) and older adults (62-81 years). After I/R challenge, the magnitude and duration of increased IsoP levels was significantly greater in older adults. Because aging is associated with declining levels of sex hormones that contribute to the regulation of antioxidant enzyme expression, we then examined the response to I/R in older women receiving hormone replacement therapy and found that these women did not manifest the amplified IsoP response found in untreated older women. These findings demonstrate that aging impairs the ability to restrain oxidative damage after an acute insult, which may contribute to the increased vulnerability of older adults to traumatic conditions and establishes a useful method to identify effective interventions to ameliorate this deficiency.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1014-1018
Number of pages5
JournalFree Radical Biology and Medicine
Volume47
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2009

Keywords

  • Aging
  • Free radicals
  • Hormone replacement therapy
  • Ischemia/reperfusion
  • Isoprostanes
  • Lipid peroxidation
  • Oxidative injury

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Physiology (medical)

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