Biological trace element research
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Biol Trace Elem Res · Jan 2000
Clinical TrialLeukocyte selenium, zinc, and copper concentrations in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women.
Preeclampsia is an important cause of maternal and perinatal mortality worldwide. The etiology of this relatively common medical complication of pregnancy, however, remains unknown. We studied the relationship between maternal leukocyte selenium, zinc, and copper concentrations and the risk of preeclampsia in a large hospital-based case-control study. ⋯ There was no clear pattern of a linear trend in risk with increasing concentration of leukocyte copper concentrations (adjusted for linear trend in risk = 0.299). Our results are consistent with some previous reports. Prospective studies are needed to determine whether observed alterations in selenium and zinc concentrations precede preeclampsia or whether the differences may be attributed to preeclampsia-related alterations in maternal and fetal-placental trace metal metabolism.
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Biol Trace Elem Res · Jan 1998
Age- and sex-related differences in zinc and lead levels in human hair.
The hair of 1518 healthy subjects between newborn and 70 yr old living in Linfen city and the surrounding rural area in Shanxi province, North China, was analyzed by means of a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer method in order to determine the concentrations of zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb). The collected samples were subdivided on the basis of age, sex, and place of residence (urban and rural). In female hair, the contents of Zn were higher than in male, but the hair Pb concentrations of males were slightly higher than those of females. ⋯ It was shown that the hair Pb and Zn levels were inversely related in various age groups, suggesting that there is possibly antagonism between Pb and Zn in the human body. The results also showed the hair Pb levels of subjects living in the urban area, except for newborns, were higher than those of subjects residing in the rural area. However, no difference between the hair Zn contents of the populations residing in urban and rural areas.
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Biol Trace Elem Res · Jan 1997
ReviewInteracting nutritional and infectious etiologies of Keshan disease. Insights from coxsackie virus B-induced myocarditis in mice deficient in selenium or vitamin E.
In 1979, Chinese scientists reported that selenium had been linked to Keshan disease, an endemic juvenile cardiomyopathy found in China. However, certain epidemiological features of the disease could not be explained solely on the basis of inadequate selenium nutrition. Fluctuations in the seasonal incidence of the disease suggested involvement of an infectious agent. ⋯ When the experiment was repeated using vitamin E-deficient mice, the same 6 point mutations were found. This is the first report of a specific host nutritional deficiency altering viral genotype. Keshan disease may be the result of several interacting causes including a dominant nutritional deficiency (selenium), other nutritional factors (vitamin E, polyunsaturated fatty acids), and an infectious agent (virus).
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Biol Trace Elem Res · Oct 1996
Effect of high dietary zinc on plasma ceruloplasmin and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase activities in copper-depleted and repleted rats.
The effect of moderately high dietary zinc (Zn) on the activities of plasma (PL) ceruloplasmin (CP), and PL and erythrocyte (RBC) copper (Cu), Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) was determined in weanling rats fed Cu-deficient (DEF; < 1 mg Cu/kg), marginal (MAR; 2 mg Cu/kg), or control (CON; 5 mg Cu/kg) copper diets containing normal or high Zn (HZn; 60 mg/kg) for 4 wk and supplemented with oral Cu (CuS; 5 mg/L) in drinking water for 0, 1, 3, or 7 d. PL Cu decreased (67% compared to CON; p < or = 0.05) in the DEF and increased to control level after 3 d of CuS; increased in the MAR group after 1 d of CuS. HZn reduced overall PL Cu by 27% in all groups, but did not alter the linear increase in PL Cu between 0 and 3 d of Cu S. ⋯ HZn diet increased PL SOD activity in all groups by 150%, reduced activity in the DEF and MAR groups by 65 and 37% and delayed the recovery of PL SOD after CuS. RBC SOD declined in the DEF and MAR groups by 56 and 33% (p < or = 0.05) and did not respond to CuS; HZn diet did not influence RBC SOD activity. These data indicate that moderately high Zn in the diet reduces PL Cu, but not PL CP activity or the recovery of PL Cu or CP activity after oral CuS of Cu-deficient rats, modifies the response of PL SOD to dietary Cu, but does not influence RBC SOD activity.
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The zinc content in the hair of 654 children living in various rural and industrial areas in southern Poland was assayed by means of the atomic absorption spectrometry, following the dry digestion procedure. The hair of girls exhibited statistically significant higher level of Zn than the boys' hair, although in the site of extremal Zn contamination, the inverse relation was found.