PLASMA, GRANULOCYTE AND MONONUCLEAR CELL COPPER AND ZINC IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES-MELLITUS

The concentrations of Cu and Zn were determined in the plasma, granulo cytes and mononuclear cells of 26 patients with diabetes mellitus and 26 age and sex-matched controls, In addition, Cu was measured in both washed and unwashed red blood cells, and Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (S OD) activity measured in washed red blood cells, Cu and Zn were determ ined by Zeeman-effect graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry following separation of plasma and red blood cells, and the white bloo d cell fractions (granulocytes and mononuclear cells) by density gradi ent centrifugation. There were no significant differences in any of th e matching factors, or lipid profiles, between the groups, Plasma Zn w as reduced by 17% in diabetics, compared with the controls (P = 0.0001 ). Neither the plasma nor the red blood cell Cu concentrations were si gnificantly different, Of the white blood cell fractions, only mononuc lear cell Cu was significantly different (30% lower in diabetics, P = 0.0035), The red blood SOD activity was reduced in diabetics by over 1 2%, but this difference was non-significant (P = 0.0872), There was a significant negative correlation between washed red blood cell Cu and the duration of diabetes (r = -0.613, P = 0.0069). In conclusion, the copper and zinc status of these diabetic patients was reduced, providi ng further evidence of a role for these antioxidant trace in this dise ase.