Publication:

Serum and peritoneal fluid levels of ischemia modified albumin in moderate/severe endometriosis

Background Recently, the role of oxidative stress in progression of endometriosis has been reported. Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is a marker of protein oxidation and very limited number of studies has evaluated the role of IMA in endometriosis. This study was designed to evaluate the serum and peritoneal fluid IMA levels in moderate/severe endometriosis as a marker for oxidative stress.

Methods This study was designed as a prospective controlled clinical trial. The study group consisted of 35 cases who underwent laparoscopy and with a diagnosis of moderate/severe endometriosis. The control group (n=35) was cases without endometriosis that underwent laparoscopy for tubal sterilization. The serum and peritoneal fluid IMA levels were measured spectrophotometrically by colorimetric method with complex of albumin non-binding cobalt and dithioerthreitol.

Results Although the median serum IMA levels in study and control groups were similar (p=0.553), the levels of peritoneal fluid IMA were significantly higher in study group (p=0.044). In endometriosis cases with dysmenorrhea peritoneal fluid IMA levels were much higher than cases without dysmenorrhea (p=0.018).

Conclusions The increased levels of IMA in peritoneal fluid of endometriosis support the possible role of oxidative stress in endometriosis. With this study, peritoneal fluid IMA levels are initially documented in endometriosis cases.