ReviewBritish journal of pharmacology2017
The oxidative stress theory of disease: levels of evidence and epistemological aspects.
Review in British journal of pharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 85 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
85 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 180 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- A randomized control trial of high-dose micronutrient-antioxidant supplementation in healthy persons with untreated HIV infection.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Natural Bioactive Compounds in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Experimental Evidence from Adjuvant Arthritis Model Supporting Combination Strategies with Methotrexate.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The Role of Antioxidants in the Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Oxidative Stress in Diabetic Retinopathy: Pathogenic Mechanisms, Biomarkers and Clinical Implications.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Disruption of Dopamine Homeostasis by Psychostimulants.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Molecular mechanisms underlying cyclophosphamide-induced ovarian injury and protective strategies.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species in otorhinolaryngological diseases: insights from pathophysiology to targeted antioxidant therapies.Redox report : communications in free radical research · 2025Review
- Redox System Dysfunction as a Key Mechanism in Autism Spectrum Disorder Pathogenesis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenic Mechanisms: Linking Redox Homeostasis and Mitochondria-Associated Metabolic Pathways Through Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Related Factor 2 (Nrf2).Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Reactive Molecules in Cigarette Smoke: Rethinking Cancer Therapy.Biotech (Basel (Switzerland)) · 2025Review
- Emerging Links Between Ferroptosis and Neurodegeneration: Implications for Disease Mechanisms and Nutraceutical Interventions.Food science & nutrition · 2025Review
- Preliminary assessment of cardiovascular effects and chemoinformatic analysis of total aqueous extract and fractions from Inula viscosa leaves.Journal of molecular histology · 2025Article
- Investigation of The Placental Levels of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor B and Selenoprotein P and Their Relation with Birth Weight in Patients with Pre-eclampsia: A Case-Control Study.International journal of fertility & sterility · 2025Article
- Protective effect of serum carotenoids on mortality among metabolic syndrome patients: attenuated by lipid-lowering drugs.Nutrition journal · 2025Article
- Something Is Rotten in the State of Redox.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The role of oxidative stress in modulating mortality risk across the hypertension control cascade.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Association between hypertension and oxidative balance score: data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2018.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Article
- Oxidative/Nitrosative Stress, Apoptosis, and Redox Signaling: Key Players in Neurodegenerative Diseases.Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology · 2025Review
- Antioxidants: A Hot Controversy Defused by Cool Semantics.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
25 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The theory that oxidative stress (OS) is at the root of several diseases is extremely popular. However, so far, no antioxidant has been recommended or offered by healthcare systems neither has any been approved as therapy by regulatory agencies that base their decisions on evidence-based medicine. This is simply because, so far, despite many preclinical and clinical studies indicating a beneficial effect of antioxidants in many disease conditions, randomised clinical trials have failed to provide the evidence of efficacy required for drug approval. In this review, we discuss the levels of evidence required to claim causality in preclinical research on OS, the weakness of the oversimplification associated with OS theory of disease and the importance of the narrative in its popularity. Finally, from a more translational perspective, we discuss the reasons why antioxidants acting by scavenging ROS might not only prevent their detrimental effects but also interfere with essential signalling roles. We propose that ROS have a complex metabolism and are generated by different enzymes at diverse sites and at different times. Aggregating this plurality of systems into a single theory of disease may not be the best way to develop new drugs, and future research may need to focus on specific oxygen-toxifying pathways rather than on non-specific ROS scavengers. Finally, similarly to what is nowadays required for clinical trials, we recommend making unpublished data available in repositories (open data), as this will allow big data approaches or meta-analyses, without the drawbacks of publication bias. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed section on Redox Biology and Oxidative Stress in Health and Disease. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v174.12/issuetoc.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.