ORIGINAL ARTICLE Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2021, Vol. 31(07): 765-769 765 A Comparative Analysis of Superoxide Dismutase 1 Level in Diabetics with and without Neuropathy Kanwal Huma, Khadija Mehboob, Amir Rashid and Asifa Majeed Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan ABSTRACT Objective: To compare superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) levels in diabetes mellitus patients with and without neuropathy. Study Design: Cross-sectional comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: Multidisciplinary Lab-1 of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Army Medical College, in cooperation with Pak-Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from January 2020 to January 2021. Methodology: Eighty-four subjects were enrolled through non-probability purposive sampling technique. They were further divided into three groups. Patients with diabetic neuropathy were labelled as the group Ι, and patients with diabetes mellitus without neuropathy were included in group ΙΙ. While group ΙΙΙ was comprised of healthy individuals and taken as control. Biochemical parameters included fasting blood glucose levels and HbA1c. Superoxide dismutase-1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data were evaluated by SPSS version 22.0 and presented in percentage and mean ± standard deviation (SD). Independent sample t-test and one–way ANOVA followed by the post-hoc Tukey test were used for group comparison. Results: Mean level of SOD1 was significantly higher in group Ι as compared to group ΙΙ and ΙΙΙ (p<0.001). Statistically signifi- cant difference was observed among groups Ι and ΙΙ (p= 0.002), Ι and ΙΙΙ (p<0.001 ), and ΙΙ and ΙΙΙ (p= 0.017). Mean levels of SOD1 were also significantly increased with poor glycemic control (p<0.001). Conclusion: SOD1 level was considerably high in patients with diabetes mellitus with neuropathy in comparison to diabetics without neuropathy and healthy individuals. Key Words: Diabetes mellitus, Diabetic neuropathy, ELISA, Superoxide dismutase 1(SOD1). How to cite this article: Huma K, Mehboob K, Rashid A, Majeed A. A Comparative Analysis of Superoxide Dismutase 1 Level in Diabetics with and without Neuropathy. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak 2021; 31(07):765-769. INTRODUCTION Diabetic neuropathy is a microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). It affects approximately 30% to 90% of patients with DM in the world. 1 Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN),isthemostcommontypeofdiabeticneuropathy. 2 Oxida- tive stress is the main mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of DPN. It is caused by an imbalance between the generation of oxidative substances and antioxidants of the body. 3 Thefirstlineenzymetoneutralisesuperoxide-freeradicleinthe chain of an antioxidant system is superoxide dismutase (SOD). It catalyses the generation of molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide from superoxide-free radical. Various isozymes of SOD are existing in mammals, which are products of distinct genes. 4 Correspondence to: Dr. Kanwal Huma, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan E-mail: kanwalhuma59@yahoo.com ..................................................... Received: February 21, 2021; Revised: June 02, 2021; Accepted: June 19, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29271/jcpsp.2021.07.765 Cytosolic and extracellular SOD enzyme is Cu-Zn and referred toasSOD1,andSOD3,respectively;whilemitochondrialSODis Mn-Zn and referred to as SOD2. 5 Many studies have narrated the conflicting behaviour of intracellular and plasma SOD activity in patients with DM and its complications. 6 Among various isoforms of SOD, the current study focused on the anal- ysis of SOD1 levels. The present study aimed to compare SOD1 levels in patients with DM with and without neuropathy. METHODOLOGY This comparative cross-sectional study took place at Multidisciplinary Lab-1, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Army Medical College, in coordination with Pak-Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from January 2020 to January 2021. The research was carried out after the formal approval from the Ethical Review Committee of Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. Atotalof84subjectshadparticipatedinthisstudy.WorldHealth Organization (WHO) calculator was used to calculate the sample size, based on reference prevalence 6.9% 7 with 95% confidence interval and 5% error. The study participants were enrolled through non-probability purposive sampling technique. They were split into three groups. In the group Ι, 28 patients with