Summary
Fifty normal pregnant women were investigated for porphyrin and porphyrin precursors in urine during the last month of gestation and two months after parturition. During pregnancy, a statistically significant increase was found for all the parameters examined.
In a series of 31 patients with heterozygous and 20 patients with homozygous β-thalassaemia the erythrocyte protoporphyrin content was found constantly raised. The difference from normal values was statistically significant.
In 60 children with mental retardation of unknown etiology, the whole blood lead, as well as the activity of the red cell delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (delta-ALAD), was measured. Thirty normal children and 30 with mental retardation of known etiology were used as controls. The lead values were found significantly higher in the study patients compared with both control groups (P less than 0.001). The delta-ALAD activity in the 14 patients with blood lead levels greater than or equal to 40 microgram/dl, was significantly reduced compared with the normal controls (P less than 0.001) and the mentally retarded controls (P less than 0.01). In more than 20% of the patients with mental retardation of unknown etiology, indications of significant exposure to lead were found. There was no difference in blood lead values between children from cities and those from rural areas. The possible role of lead in the etiology of mental retardation is discussed.
In 20 iron deficient patients and 21 normal controls the activity of the enzyme δ-ALA dehydratase of erythrocytes was assayed. In addition the urine porphyrins and porphyrin precursor excretions were measured. It was found that in sideropenic patients the erythrocyte δ-ALA dehydratase activity was almost constantly higher than in normals; the difference of the mean values being statistically significant (p < 0.005). A significant diminution of δ-ALA (p < 0.0025) urine excretion was observed, whereas the urine excretion of PBG, CP and UP was found within the normal limits. The results are compared to those reported by other authors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.