Medical Ozone: A Redox Regulator with Selectivity for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) are the most common arthritic diseases. Medical ozone has demonstrated its effectiveness in combination therapy with methotrexate or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for RA and OA, respectively. Although RA and OA have been compared from different points of view, few studies have considered their redox status in spite of the oxidative processes that are involved in both diseases. The aim of this study was to compare RA with OA, evaluating their redox status and the effects of ozone on their clinical response to combined therapy with ozone. The redox status of 80 patients was determined: antioxidant defenses, injury markers, two subjective variables (pain and disability), and levels of antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptides were evaluated. Oxidative stress and clinical response to combined therapy with ozone was higher than in the case of RA. After medical ozone treatment, there was an increase in antioxidant defense and a decrease in injury markers as well as pain, disability, and autoantibody concentrations. Redox biomarkers were able to differentiate between both arthritic diseases and combined therapy with ozone (methotrexate + ozone), showing a therapeutic selectivity for RA in comparison with OA.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Its Oxidative Stress-Induced Pathologies and Redox Bioregulation through Low-Dose Medical Ozone: A Systematic Review

“…In patients with osteoarthritis, the therapy is mostly based on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Combined therapy with ozone at low concentrations has proven its worth in RA as well as in OA [ 17 ].…”

“…In OA, there was an increase in GSH by 52% although a drastic decrease in SOD was measured, and oxidative stress—MDA here—showed a remarkable rise. Result: RA responds to the systemic ozone application to regulate and to restore the redox balance, which is not so in the case of OA; oxidative stress even increases by 40% [ 17 ].…”

Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Its Oxidative Stress-Induced Pathologies and Redox Bioregulation through Low-Dose Medical Ozone. A Systematic Review.

“…Result: RA responds to the systemic ozone application to regulate and torestore the redox balance. Not so in the case of OA, oxidative stress even increases by 40% [17].…”

“…In osteoarthritis patients, the therapy is mostly based on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). Combined therapies with ozone at low concentrations has proven its worth in RA as well as in OA [17].…”