THE STATE OF THE ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE SYSTEM IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS C

Informative markers of iron metabolism in patients with chronic viral hepatitis C (HCV) have been studied in comparison with healthy individuals. It has been established that the phenomenon of iron overload is observed in this category of patients. The indicator of antioxidant activity of blood serum in patients with HCV is significantly reduced compared with the indicators in healthy individuals. The revealed changes may indicate a violation of the balance of pro- and antioxidant processes, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease.