Isoprostanes are a family of eicosanoids of nonenzymatic origin
that are produced by the random oxidation of phospholipids by
oxygen radicals and that are elevated by oxidative stress (13, 14).
One of the isoprostanes, 8-epi-prostaglandin F2 (8-epi-PGF2),
has been shown to act as a vasoconstrictor (15) and to be associated
with the hepatorenal syndrome and pulmonary oxygen toxicity
(16). Previous studies showed decreased concentrations of
antioxidants and high concentrations of 8-isoprostanes among
smokers (17, 18), which may be due to a low intake of antioxidants
(19) or a greater utilization of vitamin C by free radicals
produced during smoking (20).
High serum uric acid may be an important predicting risk factor
for cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction (21).
Multivariate analysis of data from the MONICA cohort of 1044