Estimation of Essential Microelements and their Diagnostic Significance in Patients with Occupational Allergies
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Abstract
Allergopathology is accompanied, among other things, by a metabolic disorder of a number of microelements that are involved in the regulation of the immune response and in the enzymes metabolism of lymphocytes antioxidant protection. The present research aimed to assess the content and diagnostic significance of essential microelements (zinc, copper, iron) in urine, blood serum and lymphocytes in patients with occupational allergies depending on the form of manifestation and the severity.
Methods. 68 patients with occupational allergies of the skin and respiratory organs were examined. The content of zinc, copper and iron was determined by atomic absorption analysis in urine, blood serum and lymphocytes.
Results. It was established that the development and course of occupational allergic diseases is accompanied by an imbalance of microelements, characterized by decreased concentration of zinc and copper in the urine, increased concentration of copper in lymphocytes and of iron in the blood serum. The content of zinc in urine and in lymphocytes decreases with increasing severity of the allergic process, while the content of copper increases, which indicates the antagonism of these microelements. In patients with skin and respiratory organs pathologies, changes in most microelements in biomaterials are unidirectional and repeat the quantitative patterns of their content established in general for all the subjects. However, in patients with skin diseases, the level of zinc in lymphocytes is more than 2 times higher than in patients with respiratory pathology.
Conclusion. The established imbalance of the main microelements in patients with occupational allergic diseases requires targeted correction. The research substantiated the most sensitive and specific indicators in the diagnosis of occupational skin allergies (content of zinc and copper in urine) and of respiratory organs (zinc and copper in urine, iron in blood serum).