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High copper and low zinc serum levels in Iranian patients with multiple sclerosis: a case control study
Ali Ghazavi1, Saeed Kianbakht, Keyvan Ghasami
1Tuberculosis and Pediatric Infectious Research Center (TPIRC), Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
Background:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the levels of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in the serum of Iranian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Methods:
The serum levels of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) were measured in sixty Iranian patients with MS and compared with sixty age-, gender- and socioeconomic status-matched healthy subjects without any neurological disorders as controls from the same geographical area.
Results:
Significantly lower serum Zn and higher serum Cu levels were found in the MS patients compared with the controls (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.002, respectively). The serum Zn level of the secondary-progressive MS patients was significantly lower compared with the relapsing-remitting MS patients (p = 0.009). There was no significant difference between the serum Cu levels of the two subgroup of MS patients (p = 0.42).
Conclusions:
The results suggest significant deviations of the Iranian MS patients' serum Zn and Cu levels from the norm.
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