ABSTRACT
Oxidative stress is a physiological condition in which prooxidant factors outweigh antioxidant defenses. Premature infants are bom more than six weeks early or before 37 weeks of gestation. This chapter discusses the in vivo and ex vivo evidence for oxidative stress in premature infants; the factors and mechanisms contributing to this oxidative stress; and the use of antioxidants to treat or prevent oxidative stress-related diseases in premature infants. Prematurity itself can be considered a disease with an oxidative stress component. Work done in animal models and tissue culture indicates that hyperoxia increases the formation of reactive oxygen species in lung tissues and that reactive oxygen species derived from superoxide radicals are likely to be responsible for the oxidative damage. Vitamin E is the major lipid soluble antioxidant and it plays a major role in protecting biological membrane and lipoproteins from oxidative damage. Oxidative modifications to proteins are associated with the introduction of carbonyl groups into the amino acid side chains.
