Here's part of an article I wrote for the last issue of The Platelet News on the subject...Joan
Link between Oxidative Stress and ITP
Oxidative stress, free radicals, and inflammation are loose synonyms for complex biologic processes that can result in damaged cells. There are many diseases associated with too much oxidative stress, too many free radicals roaming the body, but when Dr. James Zehnder at Stamford University School of Medicine looked for articles linking oxidative stress and ITP he found only one, published in 2002 in the East African Medical Journal (G. Polat). The adults with ITP in the G. Polat article averaged three times the amount of free radicals than the healthy control group. This was obviously an aspect of the disease that could benefit from more research.
Dr. Zehnder’s lab examined the blood from children with ITP and found that those children with higher levels of oxidative stress were more likely to develop chronic ITP. His lab also found a relationship between oxidative stress and platelet count. While awaiting publication of the details of his research, they are continuing to examine the link between ITP and free-radicals in both children and adults.
Patients with ITP don’t need to wait until all of Dr. Zehnder’s research is published to benefit from this knowledge. There is already a large amount of research and readily-available information on oxidative stress and free radicals for other diseases. There are laboratory tests that can measure the level of oxidative stress in the body. And there are things anyone can do to reduce oxidative stress that have little down-side risk.
Smoking, pollution, and a high-fat diet are among the things that increase free-radicals, so staying away from those things is important. Eating fruits and vegetables and exercising increase the body’s ability to ‘mop up’ free radicals, keeping them under control. That is just a sample of lifestyle changes that could help. Other suggestions are easy to find on the Web (including PDSA’s own diet and lifestyle suggestions) or in print. Some vitamins and supplements also target oxidative stress, but be sure to work with a knowledgeable healthcare provider if you are considering these. Anti-oxidant drugs are available, although they haven’t been tested in patients with ITP, something Dr. Zehnder is investigating. According to Dr. Zehnder, targeting oxidative stress could be a promising new approach to treating ITP. This is certainly good news for patients.
For more information see:G. Polat, “Levels of Malondialdehyde, Glutathione and Ascorbic Acid in Idiopathic Thromboctytopoenic Purpura” East African Medical Journal, Vol. 79, No. 8, August 2002, p. 446-9,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12638848
PDSA’s Diet and Lifestyle Suggestions:
www.pdsa.org/products-a-publications/diet-a-lifestyle-info.html
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