Trace element alterations in infectious diseases

Abstract

Trace elements like copper, zinc, iron and selenium have a significant influence on the function of the immune system. We studied plasma levels of trace elements in 53 patients with acute bacterial and viral infections. In bacterial infections (septicaemia, pneumonia, erysipelas and meningitis) the plasma concentrations of selenium, iron and zinc were decreased. Plasma copper was unchanged in patients with erysipelas, but increased in other types of bacterial infections. Although the patients with viral infections showed similar shifts of the trace elements as were observed in patients with bacterial infections, the changes were not as pronounced. A plasma selenium value below 0.8 mumol/l was found in only 6% of the patients with viral infections in contrast to 63% of the patients with septicaemia or 57% of the patients with pneumonia. Furthermore, in viral infections 60% of the zinc values were below the mean level of 12.8 mumol/l observed in healthy controls as compared with 90% of the values in patients with sepsis or 92% of the values in patients with pneumonia. The onset of change in trace elements occurred within a few days and persisted for several weeks. These changes seem to be non-specific and are independent of the agent causing infection. The different types of infections were followed by changes in most of the plasma proteins which are known to be associated with an inflammatory reaction. The changes in plasma proteins were most pronounced in patients with sepsis and pneumonia. Patients with sepsis having a high degree of inflammation did not show a positive correlation between the severity of the disease--as judged by plasma proteins--and the alterations of trace elements.

Gram-Negative Septicemia and Trace Element Alterations in Tissue and Plasma: Effects of Superoxide Dismutase and Allopurinol

“…Zinc is also important for the normal function of the immune system through its involvement in various enzymes, humoral mediators, and through its mitogenic effect [29,30]. Further more, zinc has also been found to be impor tant for the function of various cells such as granulocytes, macrophages, and platelets [31,32], Zinc deficiency is thought to predispose to various infections [33,34], In zinc deficien cy, the cytotoxic T killer cell activities as well as natural killer cell functions are reduced [5,33,35,36], Animals subjected to zinc defi ciency show thymic involution and reduction in the number of splenocytes [37], Selenium is an essential trace element, im portant for various functions in the body. It acts as an antioxidant through glutathione peroxidase.…”

“…Trace elements such as copper, zinc and selenium are vital for the function of many metalloenzymes [4], It is possible that infec tion can produce changes in the metabolic balance of many of these trace metals [5], Since sepsis produces biochemical alterations and clinical changes in infected animals and humans, it is reasonable to suspect that many essential elements such as zinc, copper and selenium are also altered during sepsis.…”

Are Vitamins and Trace Elements Important in Children with Chronic and Recurrent Tonsillitis

“…The mean serum levels of Fe of the control group were significantly higher than the patient group. Şule DEMİRCİ, [1][2][3] Bazı çalışmalarda enfeksiyona duyarlılığı artmış kişilerde eser element kullanılarak çeşitli enfeksiyonların sıklığının azaldığı gösterilmiştir. [4][5][6] Normal bir immün sistem fonksiyonu için yeterli miktarda vitamin ve eser element alımının gerekli olduğu belirtilmektedir.…”

Lower Serum Zinc in Relation to Serum Albumin and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Detoxified Alcohol-Dependent Patients without Apparent Liver Disease

“…A third explanation is that an activation of the inflammatory response system (IRS) or an acute-phase response may be present in some alcoholdependent patients [9]. IRS activation is accompanied by a rapid fall in serum Zn [2,10,11], changes in serum acute-phase proteins (APPs), and increased production of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6 and IL-8 [12,13].…”