Evaluation of status of cadmium, lead, and nickel levels in biological samples of normal and night blindness children of age groups 3-7 and 8-12 years.
The causes of night blindness in children are multifactorial, and particular consideration has been given to childhood trace metals toxicity, which is the most common problem found in underdeveloped countries. This study was designed to compare the levels of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni) in scalp hair, blood, and urine of night blindness children age ranged 3-7 and 8-12 years of both genders, comparing them to sex- and age-matched controls. A microwave-assisted wet acid digestion procedure was developed as a sample pretreatment, for the determination of Cd, Pb, and Ni in biological samples of night blindness children. The proposed method was validated by using conventional wet digestion and certified reference samples of hair, blood, and urine. The digests of all biological samples were analyzed for Cd, Pb, and Ni by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The results indicated significantly higher levels of Cd, Pb, and Ni in the biological samples (blood, scalp hair, and urine) of male and female night blindness children, compared with control subjects of both genders. These data present guidance to clinicians and other professional investigating toxicity of trace metals in biological samples of night blindness children.
Afridi
Hassan Imran
HI
National Center of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, University of Sindh, Jamshoro 76080, Pakistan. hassanimranafridi@yahoo.com
Kazi
Tasneem Gul
TG
Kazi
Naveed
N
Sirajuddin
Kandhro
Ghulam Abbas
GA
Baig
Jameel Ahmed
JA
Shah
Abdul Qadir
AQ
Wadhwa
Sham Kumar
SK
Khan
Sumaira
S
Kolachi
Nida Fatima
NF
Shah
Faheem
F
Jamali
Mohammad Khan
MK
Arain
Mohammad Balal
MB
D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D009532:Nickel / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D009755:Night Blindness / Q000097:blood* / Q000652:urine*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic
D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D009532:Nickel