REDOX STATUS AND TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY IN EXTERNAL GENITAL ENDOMETRIOSIS OF DIFFERENT SEVERITY

Oxidative stress is a key factor in endometriosis initiation and progression. Moreover, there is a need for specifying lipid peroxidation and antioxidant system functioning in endometriotic lesions, particularly depending on the disease severity. The authors examine the correlation between endometriosis severity and oxidative stress in homogenates of endometriotic lesions. The research includes 48 patients diagnosed with endometriosis of different severity (12 women with mild and 36 with severe) and 10 patients without endometrial disorders (control group). The article identifies the neutral lipid and phospholipid peroxidation products and total antioxidant capacity in homogenates of ectopic (endometriotic) and eutopic (normal) endometrium. The conducted statistical analysis comprises Shapiro – Wilk, Levene's, Kruskal – Wallis, Dwass – Steel – Critchlow – Fligner (DSCF) tests, and Fisher's F-test. Results reveal that levels of diene conjugates, ketodienes, conjugated trienes, as well as Schiff bases in the isopropanol phase are significantly higher in the eutopic endometrium compared to the ectopic endometrium. The levels of lipid peroxidation products within ectopic lesions appear to be higher in severe endometriosis rather than in mild disease forms. The antioxidant system analysis demonstrates that the total antioxidant capacity is 2 times lower in the ectopic endometrial tissues than in the eutopic endometrium. The findings confirm the importance of oxidative stress in endometriosis pathogenesis. The lipid peroxidation and antioxidant capacity decrease in the ectopic endometrium may be associated with the adaptation of endometriotic lesions to increasing oxidative stress. Further research requires increased sample size to clarify the aforementioned processes' role in disease progression.