title: Chromium determinations in blood cells: clinical relevance demonstrated in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2.
abstract: As an essential nutrient involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, chromium is of extraordinary importance for patients with diabetes. Plasma concentrations do not reflect the chromium supply; thus, we determined the element's content in blood cells in order to evaluate the body status. We investigated 86 blood donors (C) and 35 diabetics type 2 (Dm2). After the isolation of the blood cells by using a density centrifugation, the chromium concentrations were determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Compared to C, Dm2 had higher values in plasma, erythrocytes, and platelets (248%, 61%, and 91%, respectively) and lower contents in polymorphonuclear and mononuclear leukocytes (each -35%, age- and sex-matched groups with n=35, each p<0.01). The poorer the metabolic control assessed by HbA1c, the higher were the chromium concentrations in plasma (r=+0.46, n=33, p=0.007, increase 11.1% per %HbA1c) and the lower were the values in mononuclear leukocytes (r=-0.45, n=33, p=0.008, decrease 17.8% per %HbA1c). The changed amounts in plasma and in mononuclear cells in increasing hyperglycemia could be the result of an intracellular/extracellular redistribution of the element. High plasma levels might explain the renal chromium losses of diabetics, whereas the lymphocytes could reflect a decreasing chromium body state.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Klinikum Stuttgart, Katharinenhospital, Germany.
authors.forename: Margarete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rükgauer
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zeyfang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002857:Chromium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014131:Trace Elements; D002857:Chromium