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Evaluation of whole blood zinc and copper levels in children with autism spectrum disorder

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Abstract

Zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) are important trace elements for cognitive development and normal neurological functioning. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurological disorder, which has previously been associated with the levels of some trace elements in the blood. However, clinical data regarding the potential implication of Zn and Cu in patients with ASD are still insufficient. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the whole blood levels of Zn and Cu in a cohort of 28 children with ASD and 28 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Whole blood Zn and Cu levels were assessed using inductively-coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry. Both in the control and in the ASD group, the values of whole blood Cu and Zn were characterized by a Gaussian distribution. The results indicate that the ASD children were characterized by ~10 % (p = 0.005) and ~12 % (p = 0.015) lower levels of whole blood Zn and Zn/Cu ratio, respectively, in comparison to controls. No significant difference in whole blood Cu was observed. However, Cu/Zn ratio was ~15 % (p = 0.008) higher in ASD children than that in the control ones. The results of the present study may be indicative of Zn deficiency in ASD children. Taking into account Zn-mediated up-regulation of metallothionein (MT) gene expression, these findings suggest a possible alteration in the functioning of the neuroprotective MT system. However, further investigations are required to test this hypothesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pharmaceutical Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratory Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Elena Cristina Crăciun

  2. Council for Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, Toften 24, 8610, Mo i Rana, Norway

    Geir Bjørklund

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Orenburg State Medical University, Orenburg, Russia

    Alexey A. Tinkov

  4. Orenburg State University, Orenburg, Russia

    Alexey A. Tinkov & Anatoly V. Skalny

  5. All-Russian Research Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (VILAR), Moscow, Russia

    Alexey A. Tinkov & Anatoly V. Skalny

  6. Department of Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

    Mauricio A. Urbina

  7. Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile

    Mauricio A. Urbina

  8. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

    Florina Rad

  9. Department of Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Eleonora Dronca

Authors
  1. Elena Cristina Crăciun
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  2. Geir Bjørklund
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  3. Alexey A. Tinkov
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  4. Mauricio A. Urbina
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  5. Anatoly V. Skalny
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  6. Florina Rad
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  7. Eleonora Dronca
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Correspondence to Geir Bjørklund.

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The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship, and/or publication of this paper.

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All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee/s and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Crăciun, E.C., Bjørklund, G., Tinkov, A.A. et al. Evaluation of whole blood zinc and copper levels in children with autism spectrum disorder. Metab Brain Dis 31, 887–890 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-016-9823-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-016-9823-0

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