Interestingly, infection dramatically altered this pattern; in males, SOD, GPx, and CAT activities decreased, likely because the enzymes were consumed in an attempt to counteract the reactive species generated by the infection, corroborating the findings that patients with severe malaria decrease SOD activity [47], and as a consequence, GPx activity also decreases compared to that of uninfected individuals [48]. The gene discussed is SOD1; the disease is malaria.