| Summary: | Introduction: Sickle cell anaemia (SCA) is associated with deficiency of plasma antioxidants. Frequency of vaso-occlusive crises (VOC) is an index of disease severity. This study determined the relationship between plasma antioxidants in children with SCA and frequency of VOC. Method: It was a cross-sectional comparative study comprising 80 children each with SCA and HbAA. Those with SCA were grouped into three based on frequency of pain episodes. Antioxidant trace elements (zinc, copper, selenium, and manganese), vitamins A, C and E and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and glutathione dismutase) were quantified using atomic absorption spectrophotometry, HPLC and ELISA respectively. Results: Children with SCA had lower plasma concentrations of zinc, selenium, manganese, vitamins A, C, E, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), but higher plasma concentration of copper compared to HbAA. Mean plasma concentrations of manganese, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, SOD and GPx were significantly lower in SCA children with severe disease compared to those with mild and moderate disease (F = 10.629, p < 0.001), (F = 5.636, p = 0.005), (F = 10.438, p < 0.001), (F = 6.424, p = 0.003), (F = 7.006, p = 0.002) and (F = 4.934, p = 0.010) respectively. Also, significant negative correlation existed between frequency of VOC and plasma concentration of Manganese (r = −0.428, p < 0.001), Vitamins A (r = −0.309, p = 0.005), Vitamin C (r = −0.456, p < 0.001), Vitamin E (r = −0.354, p = 0.001), superoxide dismutase (r = −0.320, p = 0.004) and glutathione peroxidase (r = −0.333, p = 0.003). Conclusion: Deficiency of plasma antioxidants exists in SCA and plasma levels of some antioxidants have inverse relationship to frequency of VOC. Keywords: Antioxidants, Reactive oxygen species, Sickle cell anaemia, Vaso-occlusive crises
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