Abstract
This study was designed to assess the serum levels boron (B), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and to evaluate their relationships with the disease activity parameters. This study was conducted on 30 children with JIA and 20 apparently healthy children. Patients were subjected to a thorough history-taking, clinical examination, plain radiography of both hands, and laboratory investigations including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, rheumatoid factor, and antinuclear antibodies. Disease activity was measured using the Juvenile arthritis disease activity score 27 (JADAS-27 score). Serum B, Cu, and Zn levels were also measured. The mean serum B level was highly statistically significantly lower in the JIA patients’ group than that in the control group. The mean serum Cu level was highly statistically significantly higher in the JIA patients’ group than that in the control group. Finally, the mean serum Zn level was statistically insignificantly lower in the JIA patients group than that in the control group. There were significant negative correlations between serum B concentrations and tender joint count (TJC). There were significant positive correlations between serum Cu concentrations and TJC, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and JADAS-27. There were significant negative correlations between serum Zn concentrations and TJC and JADAS-27. B serum level may play a role in the pathophysiology of JIA and its severity. Serum levels of B, Cu, and Zn seem to be of fundamental importance in the assessment of a JIA patient.
Highlights
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)) is a heterogeneous group of chronic arthritis diseases in childhood [1]
Patients were subjected to thorough history‐taking, clinical examination including locomotor system examination, slit lamp examination, plain radiography of both hands, and laboratory investigations including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C‐reactive protein, rheumatoid factor (RF), and antinuclear antibodies (ANA)
Red blood cell (RBC) count ranged between 3.70 × 106 and 5.80 × 106 cells/mm3, with a mean of 4.84 × 106 ± 0.52 × 106 cells/mm3, whereas the white blood cells (WBCs) count ranged between 4.30 × 106 and 13.80 × 106 cells/mm3, with a mean of 7.93 × 106 ± 2.67 × 106 cells/mm3.Only 12 out of 30 (40%) cases were positive for ANA
Summary
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis ( JIA) is a heterogeneous group of chronic arthritis diseases in childhood [1]. JIA is divided into seven subtypes, defined by the International League Against Rheumatism (ILAR) classification, and includes systemic onset arthritis, oligoarthritis, seropositive polyarthritis, seronegative polyarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, enthesitis‐related arthritis, and undifferentiated arthritis on the basis of clinical and laboratorial data during the first 6 months of the disease and the family history features [3,4,5,6]. Trace elements such as zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) are crucial catalytic cofactors for several enzymes,structural proteins, and transcription factors. Zn constitutes a structural element of alkaline phosphatase and stimulates its synthesis in osteoblasts, playing an important role in bone mineralization, and it is responsible for the latency of metalloproteinases [9]
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