Salivary Antioxidant Capacity in Graft versus Host Disease.

Stem cell transplantation (SCT)-related salivary gland injury and dysfunction result in local and systemic manifestations that may be long lasting and are associated with a high rate of morbidity and increased risk of infection. The salivary antioxidant system may have a major protective role. We, therefore, assessed salivary antioxidant capacity and function in 30 patients who had undergone SCT: 18 males and 12 females whose median age was 36 years (range: 7–58). Salivary gland function was assessed by sialometric and biochemistry means, which included measuring total protein, secretory IgA (SIgA) and the antioxidants peroxidase, uric acid (UA), and total antioxidant status (TAS) in the collected saliva. In patients who developed graft versus host disease (GVHD), we observed a significant decrease of the salivary flow rate, from 0.74 ± 0.14 ml/minute to 0.19 ± 0.08 ml/min, pre- and post-SCT, respectively (p [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]