Age-related alterations in antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxide levels, and somatosensory-evoked potentials: effect of sulfur dioxide.

The effect of sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) on somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and the activities of Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) were investigated in young (3 months), middle-age (12 months), and old (24 months) Swiss male albino rats. Ten ppm SO(2) was administrated to the animals of SO(2) groups in an exposure chamber for 1 h/day x 7 days/week x 6 while control groups were exposed to filtered air in the same condition. SO(2) exposure caused increased levels of brain Cu,Zn-SOD activity and decreased levels of brain GSH-Px activity in all experimental groups with respect to their corresponding control groups. Brain CAT activities were unaltered. Brain TBARS levels of all SO(2)-exposed groups were significantly increased in comparison with their respective control groups. The mean latencies of P(1), P(2), and N(2) components in the older group were either significantly different from the young or from the middle-age groups. The mean latency of the N(1) component in the older group and that of P(1) and N(1) in the middle-age group were significantly increased compared with the young group. SO(2) exposure caused the prolongation of all components in the young group, whereas it affected only the P(2) component in the middle-age group, but it did not result in any latency change in the older group in comparison with their corresponding control groups.http://link.springer-ny. com/link/service/journals/00244/bibs/37n4p554.html</++ +HEA