文摘
Nitric oxide (NO) modulates inflammatory reactions, having beneficial or toxic effects depending on the concentration. Its elevation can cause proinflammatory effects amplifying the inflammatory process with the participation of cytokines. Smoking has a negative impact on health and is considered one of the risk factors that influence disease development facilitating inflammatory processes.AimTo compare the serum concentration of NO and cytokines in smokers at baseline and after 4 months of abstinence treatment.MethodsBlood samples which were collected to obtain the serum, at baseline and after 4 months, were stored at − 80 °C until analysis. NO was measured by the total dose of nitrite determined by the Greiss method. CBA was the used technique to determine the concentration of cytokines in supernatants serum. The initial and final results of NO, TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-12 that remained after 4 months treatment were compared. Wilcoxon test was used to compare the data and Spearman test for correlations between NO and other variables. A significance level of p < 0.05 was adopted.ResultsThe analysis of NO observed a significant reduction (p = 0.001) of the initial median value of 18.80 (3.55–80.01) μmol/L to 8.10 (2.85–14.97) μmol/L after 4 months of treatment. There were no significant differences in cytokines from baseline to the end of treatment.ConclusionThe results may not mean harm to the body, but an adaptive process, decreasing the metabolism of abstinents due to the reduction of the use of nicotine.
