Assessing of plasma levels of iron, zinc and copper in Iranian Parkinson's disease.
BACKGROUND
Trace elements have long been suspected to be involved in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis, but their exact roles have been remained controversial. In this study, we assessed the levels of copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) in different stage of PD patients.


METHODS
Serum concentrations of iron, copper and zinc were measured in 109 patients with PD by colorimetric methods. Staging of the disease was evaluated according to Hoehn and Yahr (H and Y) and Unified PD Rating Scale III (UPDRS).


RESULTS
Severity values of PD measured by UPRDSIII and HY stages with mean ± SD were 22.9 ± 1.81 and 1.8 ± 1.1, respectively. Mean ± SD values of iron, zinc and copper are 100.7 ± 289.2, 68.3 ± 5.32, and 196.8 ± 162.1 μg/dl, respectively. Serum iron level in most of the patients was normal (76.6%). Whereas zinc concentration in most participants was below the normal range (64.5%) and serum Cu in the majority of patients had a high normal concentration (42.7%) and did not significantly differ among various PD stages.


CONCLUSIONS
The result of this study does not confirm strong correlation between PD stages and serum levels of tested trace elements. The actual correlations between these elements and PD and whether modulating of these agents levels could be an effective approach in the treatment of this disease remain to be elucidated.
Department of Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, Isfahan, Iran; Isfahan Neurosciences Research Center, Al Zahra Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Rokhsareh
R
Meamar
Department of Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, Isfahan, Iran.
Hamidreza
H
Nikyar
Department of Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, Isfahan, Iran; Isfahan Neurosciences Research Center, Al Zahra Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Leila
L
Dehghani
Isfahan Neurosciences Research Center, Al Zahra Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Keivan
K
Basiri
Isfahan Health Research Station, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Reza Aghaye
MR
Ghazvini
Copper; Parkinson disease; iron; plasma level; zinc