PEG-SOD in severe head injury

Further clinical evidence of the role of free radicals in head injury has been provided by the recently published results of a phase II trial of polyethylene glycol-conjugated SOD in severe head injury (Glasgow Coma Scale = 3-8). In the SOD-treated patients, there was a significant decrease in the number of patients who had died or persisted in a vegetative state at 3 or 6 months post-injury [67]. A phase III trial is underway. 

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA 

In this chapter we summarize work from our laboratory in which we have tested these predictions. The hairless mouse is our model. Initial experiments utilized excised skin while later studies used an in vivo system. We irradiated these systems with either UVA (320 100 nm), UVB (290-320 nm), or simulated sunlight in a pattern of UVA and UVB which closely matched natural sunlight. We have measured UV-induced changes in antioxidants, lipid peroxidation, and the effects of dietary supplementation with the major chain-breaking lipophilic antioxidant, a-tocopherol, on UV-induced skin damage. 

---