title: Assessment of selenium and mercury in biological samples of normal and night blindness children of age groups (3-7) and (8-12) years.
abstract: The causes of night blindness in children are multifactorial and particular consideration has been given to childhood nutritional deficiency, which is the most common problem found in underdeveloped countries. Such deficiency can result in physiological and pathological processes that in turn influence biological sample composition. This study was designed to compare the levels of selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) 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 Se and Hg 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 Se and Hg in biological samples were measured by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry, prior to microwave acid digestion, respectively. The concentration of Se was decreased in scalp hair and blood samples of male and female night blindness children while Hg was higher in all biological samples as compared to referent subjects. The Se concentration was inversely associated with the risk of night blindness in both genders. These results add to an increasing body of evidence that Se is a protecting element for night blindness. These data present guidance to clinicians and other professional investigating deficiency of essential micronutrients in biological samples (scalp hair and blood) of night blindness children.
authors: National Center of Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, University of Sindh, 76080, Jamshoro, Pakistan, hassanimranafridi@yahoo.com.
authors: Hassan Imran
authors: HI
authors: Afridi
authors: Tasneem Gul
authors: TG
authors: Kazi
authors: Farah Naz
authors: FN
authors: Talpur
authors: Atif
authors: A
authors: Kazi
authors: Sadaf Sadia
authors: SS
authors: Arain
authors: Salma Aslam
authors: SA
authors: Arain
authors: Kapil Dev
authors: KD
authors: Brahman
authors: Abdul Haleem
authors: AH
authors: Panhwar
authors: Naeemullah
authors: N
authors: Khan
authors: Mariam Shazadi
authors: MS
authors: Arain
authors: Jamshed
authors: J
authors: Ali
mesh_terms: D000143:Acids; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D009755:Night Blindness / Q000378:metabolism*; D012643:Selenium / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic
chemical_list: D000143:Acids; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008628:Mercury; D012643:Selenium
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