Iloprost infusion does not reduce oxidative stress in systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis is a connective tissue disease in which oxidative stress represents an important player among the complex pathogenetic mechanisms of the disease. Iloprost, an analogue of natural prostacyclin, is used in systemic sclerosis for the treatment of severe Raynaud’s phenomenon and ischemic ulcers. There is a clear evidence that iloprost attenuates oxidative damage induced by ischemia–reperfusion phenomena. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of iloprost on oxidative status in ten patients with systemic sclerosis by measuring urinary levels of 8-isoprostaglandin-F_2α, a member of F₂-isoprostanes. We found that systemic sclerosis patients cyclically treated with iloprost showed increased urinary level of 8-isoprostaglandin-F_2α in comparison with healthy subjects; urinary 8-isoprostaglandin-F_2α did not diminish soon after the iloprost infusion as well as 3, 15 and 30 days after the drug administration. Unlike experimental studies, in vivo the strong vasodilator effect of iloprost infusion did not reduce oxidative status.