Assessment of Trace Elements Status in Bronchial Asthma

Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract. Trace elements are essential micronutrients that exist in very low concentrations in the body. Deficiency of trace elements may be associated with production of free radicals with subsequent tissue damage and infectious diseases. Major trace elements such as zinc and copper are part of the structure of antioxidant enzymes like super oxide dismutase. These enzymes act as antioxidant defense and are able to regulate the host immune system, and alter viral genome. Changes in the Zinc and copper level decrease the efficiency of this antioxidant system and this leads to hyper-reactivity and inflammation in the respiratory tract.
Aim: To determine serum levels of the trace elements Zn, and Cu in asthmatic patients and healthy controls.
Materials And Methods: 50 patients of bronchial asthma in age group of 20-70 years and 50 age and sex matched healthy controls were included in the study. 3 ml of venous blood was aseptically collected, serum was separated and serum Zinc and Copper level was estimated by colorimetric kit method.
Result: Out of 100 subjects enrolled in the study, mean serum zinc levels of 50 healthy subjects and 50 patients were 87.71±15.05 µg/dl and 65.92±21.29 µg/dl respectively and mean serum copper levels of 50 healthy subjects and 50 patients were 129.93± 7.44 µg/dl and 178.38±21.26 µg/dl respectively. Serum zinc level was significantly low in patients as compared to control group. The data was statistically significant (p = 0.00). Serum copper level was significantly high in patients as compared to control group. The data was statistically significant (p = 0.00).
Conclusion: The present study confirmed, the presence of an oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in patients of bronchial asthma, supporting the concept of systemic oxidative stress in these conditions. Also, quantitative determination of zinc and copper in the serum of asthmatic patients may help in the early detection of the disease and evaluation of therapeutic agents.