Medical elementology: A new scientific discipline

Cross-disciplinary approach to the role of chemical elements in human health and disease is the scope of this new field of knowledge called "Medical Elementology". This scientific discipline studies the physiological and pathological effects of changes in the level of chemical elements in human organisms and aims at the progress in knowledge about new methods of early detection of risk factors connected with higher or lower amount of elements in human body. Medical elementology research depends very much on the use of appropriate, simple, fast, precise, accurate and highly sensitive analytical methods. The continuing improvement of new physical methods has very much increased the possibilities for quantitative studies of chemical elements in biological systems. More and more interdisciplinary work is necessary to better understand the complicated field of chemical elements in biology as well as their reciprocal interdependence. We have to hope that the 21st century will be the century of the medical elementology. ©2007 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle

Problems associated with the determination of trace element status and trace element requirements - A mini-review

Diagnosis of deficiency or overloading and the monitoring of individuals receiving treatment require the knowledge of both the trace element status of these individuals prior treatment and, in case of deficiency, the trace element requirements needed for restoring an adequate trace element status. The determination of trace element status is a very complex problem. This status depends on many factors: the intake of trace elements, their absorption and excretion, the bioavailability of the trace elements and their homeostatic control. Moreover, the low concentration in the specimen and small sample size usually available for analysis require precise, accurate and highly sensitive analytical methods. Another possibility is to find biochemical parameters which would reflect the trace element status. However, biochemical parameters are affected not only by the trace element status, but by other parameters. Although some progress has been made in the understanding of dietary interactions that determine biological availability of trace elements, a basis for quantitative treatment of these interactions is still lacking. Therefore, the translation from physiological to dietary requirements must be very general and is subject to much judgment. Trace element supplementation for meeting the requirement is also not so easy to perform. Interactions with other minerals or dietary constituents need consideration in the evaluation. There is growing concern that balance studies may be inappropriate for estimating the requirements for minerals. Problems associated with the determination of trace element status and trace element requirements are presented and discussed. © 2005 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle

Modulation of liver antioxidant ability under chronic fasciliasis and (Znx Cu1-x)2 (OH) 3C1

1 page.-- Contributed to: Workshop on Biological activity of Metals and Metal Compounds (Sofia, Bulgaria, Nov 2-3, 2006)The aim of the study was to assess the antioxidant status (vitamin C, E, A, zinc, copper, catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and malondialdehyde) in chronic stage of fascioliasis after treatment with Zn-Cu mixed basic salt....The study was supported by the Spanish-Bulgarian Scientific Cooperation (CSIC-BAS) — 2005BG-Sp 008.Peer reviewe

Influence of the geochemical environment on fresh water trace element levels in Greece

In Greece, the main sources of drinking water supplies are groundwater aquifers. It has been shown that mainly in Northern Greece, Eastern Thessaly region and Peloponnese, problems occurred due to the presence of an excess of trace elements in the groundwater. Some of the results obtained will be presented. High boron values have been found in drinking water all over Greece due to natural sources, geothermal activity and/or seawater. In the province of Thessaloniki (Northern Greece) and in Eastern Thessaly, natural arsenic has been detected in groundwater and may derive from reductive dissolution of As-rich Fe oxyhydroxide present in the aquifer. In the Northwest Peloponnese, inhabitants are drinking a Fe-Mn contaminated water due to the geological formations of the aquifers. These findings have important implications for water management. In a setting of high natural geochemical background values, source control of the pollution is not possible and water managers have to cope with a local to regional geochemical anomaly that implies specific water treatment or mixing with unpolluted resources to bring concentrations down. ©2012 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle

The effect of age and gender on the lithium content in rib bone of healthy humans

Information on chemical elements of human bones and of their body burdens may be useful for assessing nutrition and for prevention and control of various disease states caused by mineral or trace element imbalance. Therefore, we studied the effect of age and gender on the lithium content in rib bone of healthy humans. Contents of Li in intact rib-bone of 80 relatively healthy 15-58 year old women (n = 38) and men (n = 42) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Mean values (M ± SEM) for the mass fraction of Li (milligram per kilogram of dry bone) in rib-bone of females, males, and females and males taken together were as follows: 0.0360 ± 0.0024, 0.0376 ± 0.0020, and 0.0369 ± 0.0015, respectively. No clear correlation was found between the Li content and age and gender. The results obtained may serve as indicative normal values for the lithium content in human rib-bone. ©2010 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle

Influence of subcutaneous injection of essential fatty acids on the stress-induced modifications of rat platelet aggregation and membrane lipid composition

Membrane lipids play an important role in the function of blood platelets but the mechanisms by which the lipid composition of the platelet membrane is adjusted remain unclear. It has been shown that stress and poly-unsaturated fatty acids modified the lipid composition of blood plasma and platelet lipids, but very little is known about the effect of stress and fatty acids on membrane platelet lipid composition. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the influence of the essential fatty acids: linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic acids on the composition of the platelet membrane lipids of rats assigned to heat and restraint stress. It was shown that injections of polyunsaturated fatty acids decrease or suppress the stress-induced increase in platelet aggregation, suppress the stress-induced modification of the composition of the platelet membrane lipids and modify the fatty acid composition of the platelet membrane phospholipids. © 2005 Akadémiai Kiadó

Is scalp hair a valid indicator for the assessment of lithium content in the human body?

On the basis of available evidences, Li has an extraordinarily complex, multifactorial and strongly intercorelated role. As the safety margin between therapeutic and toxic Li doses is very small, its requirements must be accurately determined for the general population and subjects exposed to physical exertion, certain diseases, children, adolescent lactating mother, formula diets and in dialysis patients. Human head hair is a recording filament that can reflect metabolic changes of many elements over long periods of time and thus furnish a print-out of post nutritional events. However, there is a question of reliability of the "hair mineral test", and the scientific validity of the "body mineral status" estimation using the "hair mineral test" results. Therefore, we determined the normal levels and age-related changes of Li in the scalp hair of healthywomen andmen - residents of an uncontaminated area and checked correlations between Li contents in hair and rib-bone tissue. Comparison to bone wasmade because Li has a high affinity to this tissue. Contents of Li in intact scalp hair and rib-bone of 80 relatively healthy 15 - 58 years oldwomen (n = 38) and men (n = 42) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Mean values (M ± SEM) for the mass fraction of Li (milligram per kilogram) in scalp hair of females, males, and females and males taken together were as follows: 0.0221 ± 0.0035, 0.0399 ± 0.0056, and 0.0317 ± 0.0036, respectively. A tendency for an increased Li mass fraction with age was observed in the scalp hair of females only. It was shown that lower Li content was typical of female scalp hair as compared to those in male hair. No clear correlation was found between the Li content in scalp hair and the rib-bone. The results obtained may serve as indicative normal values for the lithium content in human scalp hair. ©2010 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle

Modulation of liver antioxidant ability under chronic fascioliasis and (ZnxCu1-x)2(OH)3Cl supplementation

Aim: This aim of this study was to assess the antioxidant status (vitamin C, E, A, zinc, copper, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and malondialdehyde) of rat liver in chronic stage of fasciolosis after treatment with Zn-Cu mixed basic salt. Methods: White Wistar rats were infected per os with 25 metacercariae of fasciola hepatica. Application of (Zn xCu1-x)2(OH)3Cl salt started 6 weeks after the infection and was performed during 10 consecutive days. Results: During the chronic stage of fasciolosis in the liver, a decrease of concentrations of vitamins C, E, A and of the trace elements Zn and Cu were observed together with a reduction of the Cu,Zn-superoxid dismutase (SOD) activity and an increase of catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities. Malondialdehyde concentration was elevated. Application of (Zn xCu1-x)2(OH)3Cl salt increased the concentrations mainly of vitamin E, but also of vitamin C and of the trace element Zn. On the other hand, only the activity of SOD was enhanced after salt treatment. Conclusions: It seems that antioxidant imbalance was developed in the fasciola hepatica infected liver rats during the chronic fasciolosis and that Zn-Cu salt improved the antioxidant defense abilities. ©2007 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle

Influence of subcutaneous injection of essential fatty acids on the stress-induced modifications of rat platelet aggregation and membrane lipid composition

Membrane lipids play an important role in the function of blood platelets but the mechanisms by which the lipid composition of the platelet membrane is adjusted remain unclear. It has been shown that stress and poly-unsaturated fatty acids modified the lipid composition of blood plasma and platelet lipids, but very little is known about the effect of stress and fatty acids on membrane platelet lipid composition. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the influence of the essential fatty acids: linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic acids on the composition of the platelet membrane lipids of rats assigned to heat and restraint stress. It was shown that injections of polyunsaturated fatty acids decrease or suppress the stress-induced increase in platelet aggregation, suppress the stress-induced modification of the composition of the platelet membrane lipids and modify the fatty acid composition of the platelet membrane phospholipids

Transfer of copper from soil and forage to sheep grazing in a semiarid region of Pakistan. Influence of the seasons and the period of sampling

This study has been conducted in a sheep farm of the Livestock Experimental Station located in the Southwestern Punjab. The purpose of this research was to investigate, as a function of the seasons and the sampling periods, the transfer of Cu from soils and forages to sheep grazing in this semiarid region in order to evaluate if the Cu requirement of the grazing livestock was met or if Cu deficiency occurred. The final goal was to maximize the production of animals by adopting, if necessary, an adequate and balanced Cu supplementation. A complete free-choice supplement was available to all animals throughout the year. Soil, forage and blood samples from lactating/non-lactating and male grazing animals have been taken fortnightly, four times during summer and four times during winter. Cu concentrations of the samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Extractable soils Cu concentrations were higher in summer than that in winter and above the normal range for the growth of plants. Considerable variation in forage Cu was observed at sampling intervals without seasonal effect. The plasma Cu level was within the normal range in all classes of animals being higher in winter than in summer. It seems that the higher forage Cu content observed in summer is ineffective in raising the plasma Cu. It was on borderline for the occurrence of deficiency and therefore Cu supplementation may be recommended. © 2009 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle