Oxidative+Stress

Cori Steck
cre56@wildcats.unh.edu

=**OXIDATIVE STRESS**=

What is Oxidative Stress?
====Oxidative Stress can be defined as any physiological stress that is caused by any damage done by free radicals that are not properly neutralized by antioxidants. Oxidative Stress is a stress on the body specifically caused by a disturbance in the balance between reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defenses. ====

Oxidation:
A chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation is a mechanism in which free radicals are formed. An oxidant is an element in a redox reaction that will accept an electron.

Diagnosing Disorders caused by Oxidative Stress:

 * Heart Rate Variability – Variation in the time interval that occurs between heartbeats, it can be measured by ECG recordings
 * Oximetry – Oxygen levels in the human body, oxygen saturation can be measure by pulse oximetry, which is a sensor device that is placed on the finger of a human. It measures changing absorbance at wavelengths, which allows the device to determine the absorbance due to pushing arterial blood.
 * Oxygen Consumption – The amount of oxygen used by the body per minute can be measured. It is reported in mL at standard temperatures and pressures.
 * Thermography – The amount of radiation emitted by an area of the body increases with temperature. Thermography is a means to see these temperature changes in specific areas of the body
 * Metabolic Resting Rate – the rate of energy that is expended by humans at rest. Rest is a physically undisturbed and thermally neutral environment

====There are nearly 40 diseases that are believed to be caused by Oxidative Stress. Oxidative Stress is believed to play a strong role in neurodegenerative diseases. The following list are diseases that appear in articles the most when discussing Oxidative Stress ====


 * ====Aging ====
 * ====Alzheimer’s ====
 * ====Cancer ====
 * ====Diabetes ====
 * ====Influenza ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Parkinson’s ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Sleep Apnea ====

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Background information:
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">Aerobic metabolism produces oxidants which is a normal product for the body. However, under certain pathophysiological conditions, increased rates of oxidants in the body can lead to oxidative stress which is a precursor to so many other diseases. Elevated levels of oxidants can damage all cell components such as: proteins, lipids, and the DNA. Some oxidants can even cause disruptions in certain mechanisms of cellular signaling.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 110%;">2) Is Oxidative Stress confined to just humans or do other species experience the diseases as well?
Primary Research Methods Data and Results Results Analysis References