Abstract
It is estimated that multiple sclerosis (MS) affects 35,000 Brazilians and 2.5 million individuals worldwide. Many studies have suggested a possible role of metallic elements in the etiology of MS, but their concentration in the blood of MS patients is nonetheless little investigated in Brazil. In this work, these elements were studied through Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), whose analysis provides a tool to quantify the concentrations of metal elements in the blood samples of individuals with neurodegenerative disorders. This study aimed to compare the concentration of metallic elements in blood samples from patients with MS and healthy individuals. Blood was collected from 30 patients with multiple sclerosis and compared with the control group. Blood samples were digested in closed vessels using a microwave and ICP-MS was used to determine the concentrations of 12 metallic elements (Ba, Be, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mo, Ni, Pb and Zn). In MS patients, we observed a reduction in the concentrations of beryllium, copper, chromium, cobalt, nickel, magnesium and iron. The mean concentration of lead in blood was significantly elevated in the MS group. However, no difference was observed in the concentrations of Mo, Ba, Ca and Zn in blood samples from MS patients and the control group. According to our data, there is a possible role for the concentrations of 8 of the 12 evaluated metallic elements in multiple sclerosis. Abnormalities in transition metals levels in biological matrices have been reported in several neurological diseases.
Highlights
It is estimated that multiple sclerosis (MS) affects 35,000 Brazilians and 2.5 million individuals worldwide
Evidence on the possible relationship between multiple sclerosis and metallic elements mainly arise from case–control studies in which metal concentrations have been evaluated in different biological specimens such as blood, serum, hair, urine and cerebrospinal fluid[16]
Copper, chromium, cobalt, nickel, magnesium and iron had a statistically significant reduction, but there were no significant differences for the concentrations of Mo, Cs, Ba, Ca, Se and Zn in blood samples from patients and the control group
Summary
It is estimated that multiple sclerosis (MS) affects 35,000 Brazilians and 2.5 million individuals worldwide. Many studies have suggested a possible role of metallic elements in the etiology of MS, but their concentration in the blood of MS patients is little investigated in Brazil. MS affects over 400,000 people in the United States, 35,000 Brazilians and 2.5 million worldwide, making it a pressing issue in healthcare[2] It is recognized worldwide, that reported incidence rates and prevalence vary considerably between regions and populations, indicating that environmental and climatic factors can possibly contribute towards e tiology[3,4]. The aim of this study was to compare the concentration of metals by ICP-MS, in the blood of patients with multiple sclerosis and healthy controls, in order to investigate the role of these metal elements as environmental cofactors for multiple sclerosis
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