RESUMO
Blood and 24 h urine samples obtained from 25 patients with primary retinitis pigmentosa (RP), 15 unaffected family members and 10 unrelated controls showed plasma copper and zinc to be significantly elevated in the RP patients. No significant variation of erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels was found between the 3 groups.
Assuntos
Cobre/metabolismo , Retinose Pigmentar/metabolismo , Superóxido Dismutase/sangue , Zinco/metabolismo , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeRESUMO
Low serum zinc levels and high urinary zinc excretion were found in 25 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma. Twenty of them underwent successful removal of the tumor by lobectomy or pneumonectomy; in the other 5 patients surgical exploration revealed unresectable pulmonary lesions. The latter had significantly lower serum zinc and higher urinary zinc levels than the patients in whom surgical removal of the tumor could be performed. Tumor resection was followed by restoration of serum and urinary zinc to normal. In contrast, in the inoperable patients a further decrease in serum zinc and no significant change in urinary zinc excretion were noted 15 days after thoracic exploration. In both patient groups a significant negative correlation existed between preoperatively obtained values of serum and urinary zinc. Hypozincemia in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma may result from an increase in urinary zinc losses, probably related to a decrease in zinc binding to plasma proteins. Determination of serum and urinary zinc may be useful in evaluating the prognosis of primary lung cancer.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Broncogênico/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/metabolismo , Zinco/metabolismo , Adenocarcinoma/metabolismo , Idoso , Carcinoma Broncogênico/cirurgia , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas/metabolismo , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas/cirurgia , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/cirurgia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , PneumonectomiaRESUMO
Serum, erythrocyte and urinary zinc were serially measured during the early ten days following major surgery or thermal burns in 18 and 8 patients, respectively. Serum zinc gradually decreased and erythrocyte and urinary zinc increased during the first three postoperative or post-burn days. Thereafter, both serum and erythrocyte zinc gradually returned to preoperative levels in the patients subjected to surgery, while serum zinc continued to fall progressively despite a rapid restoration of erythrocyte zinc to control values, in the burned patients. It is suggested that in contrast to the early postoperative or post-burn hypozincemia, which may be attributed to a redistribution of zinc from plasma to tissue, continued decrease in serum zinc following thermal burns may indicate a mobilization of zinc to the burn site and eventually result in significant zinc depletion.
