Evaluation of seminal zinc levels by atomic absorption in men with spinal cord injury

Abstract

Study design: A case-control study evaluating seminal zinc level in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Objectives: Patients with SCI have neurological prostate dysfunction. There are only some indications in the literature that seminal zinc level may be lower in these patients. Seminal zinc is mainly produced by the prostate and, therefore, can be considered to be a marker of prostate function. The objective of the present study was to determine whether SCI can induce changes in seminal zinc levels and to compare the results with those obtained for normal men (controls). Setting: The study was carried out in Brazil. Methods: A total of 24 men with SCI (mean age ± s.d. 36.25 ± 10.24 years) and 24 controls (mean age±s.d. 36.50±10.31 years) were studied. Blood and semen were collected after 3 days of abstinence from ejaculation. Semen was left at room temperature for 15 min, stored in liquid nitrogen, and lyophilized. Seminal zinc was determined by atomic absorption. Blood was stored at a controlled temperature of -70 to À79 1C and later used for the determination of testosterone, prolactin and total prostate-specific antigen using an AxSYM apparatus and Abbott reagents. Results: Mean seminal zinc concentration was 85.20 mg l À1 for the patients, a lower value than that obtained for the controls (147.16 mg l À1 ) (P ¼ 0.0035). Conclusion: Patients with SCI have a significant reduction of seminal zinc.

Analytical Determination of Heavy Metals in Human Seminal Plasma—A Systematic Review

“…Detected Analyte LOD Analytical Tool [19] Cd and Pb n.a FAAS [27] Cd and As As: 0.05 µg/L and Cd: 0.002 µg/L AAS [28] Cu n.a AAS [29] Cd and Zn Zn: 6.6 mg /L FAAS [32] Fe n.a AAS [35] Cd, Zn, and Pb n.a AAS, GFAAS, and FAAS [41] Pb n.a GFAAS [42] Zn and Cu n.a AAS [43] Cd, Zn, Se, Pb, and Cu n.a ETA-AAS [46] Fe and Cd n.a AAS [47] Zn n.a FAAS [48] Zn n.a AAS [49] Pb n.a GFAAS [56] Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mg n.a AAS [57] Cd and Pb Pb: 0. Cd, Se, and Pb n.a AAS [67] Fe, Zn, Se, Cu, Ca, and Mg n.a FAAS [68] Zn, Mn, and Cu n.a AAS [69] Zn n.a AAS [70] Zn and Se Zn: 0.47µg/L and Se: 0.78µg/L AAS and FAAS [71] Zn n.a AAS [72] Cr and Co 0.02 mg/L ETA-AAS [73] As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Se, and Zn As: 2.59, Cd: 0.03, Cu:1.03, Pb: 0.98, Se: 0.02, and Zn: 0.065 µg/L AAS, ETA-AAS, and HGAAS [74] Cd, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Cu n.a AAS [75] Cd and Pb n.a FAAS [76] Zn n.a AAS [77] Cd, Pb, and Cr n.a AAS AAS: atomic absorption spectroscopy, ETA-AAS: electrothermal atomization -atomic absorption spectrometry, FAAS: Flame atomic absorption spectroscopy, GFAAS: graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, HGAAS: Hydride generation atomic absorption spectroscopy, n.a: not available.…”