Association between trace elements in serum from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia patients considering treatment effects.

BACKGROUND: Imbalances in metal concentrations have been suggested to contribute to the pathophysiology of different brain disorders, such as bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SCZ). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this exploratory study is to evaluate the association between the concentrations of macro/trace elements in serum from BD and SCZ patients considering the effects from different treatments. METHODS: Eleven subjects with SCZ, seven with BD treated with lithium (BDL) and eight subjects with BD treated with other medications except lithium (BDN) were recruited for the study, as well as eleven healthy controls (HC). Serum concentrations of eleven macro/trace elements (Se, Zn, Fe, K, Ca, Mg, P, Al, Cu, Mn, and Ni) were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). RESULTS: Se and Zn concentrations were significantly lower for patients with SCZ and BD in comparison to HC by one-way ANOVA test. Moreover, serum concentrations for Fe were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in BDN (548 ± 92 µg L-1) and SCZ (632 ± 279 µg L-1) in comparison to HC (421 ± 121 µg L-1). A significant negative correlation was reported between Se and Fe in BDL group (r = -0.935, p < 0.05). In addition, a significantly higher Cu/Zn ratio was determined in SCZ group against HC (ratio = 2.4, p = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results suggest that the imbalance in Fe concentrations is an effect of BD treatment. Lithium is supposed to have an antagonist effect for Se in BDL patients. A negative correlation reported between Fe and BMI in SCZ group could be related to antipsychotic treatment and the Cu/Zn ratio reported could be considered as a suggesting parameter to relate oxidative stress to SCZ. Future studies including larger number of patients with SCZ and BD before and after treatment are necessary to confirm the investigative results presented herein.

A quantitative approach for Cd, Cu, Fe and Mn through laser ablation imaging for evaluating the translocation and accumulation of metals in sunflower seeds.

The uptake and accumulation of Cd in sunflower seeds represents an important pathway for imputing potentially toxic metals into human and animal food. In this way, bioimaging of Cd and micronutrients (Cu, Fe and Mn) in the seeds of sunflower grown in soil contaminated with Cd are performed. For this task, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is used in quantitative approach, considering four groups: precursor, control, Cd-low (50mg) and Cd-high (700mg). For attaining our proposals, ICP-MS (nebulizer and auxiliary flow rates and radiofrequency power) and LA (laser intensity, frequency and spot size) parameters were optimized, and the analytical signal improved to 197%, 217%, 232%, and 283%, for 57Fe, 112Cd, 55Mn and 63Cu, respectively. The accuracy of proposed method using LA-ICP-MS is evaluated comparing the CRM results (Tomato leaves, NIST SRM 1573a). No difference is found at 95% confidence level. Regarding Cd accumulation in sunflower seeds, the results indicated that cadmium is translocated to seeds, and the cotyledons showed the highest concentration (Cd-high group), ranging from 10 to 20µgg-1. Considering both total concentration and the distribution in the seeds, Cd uptake is responsible to the homeostasis misbalance of micronutrients, which play an essential role in the sunflower metabolism. Such results highlight the importance of bioimaging evaluation, in the translocation and accumulation of metals, contributing to expand the information available of this culture.