Younes-Mhenni S, Aissi M, Mokni N, Boughammoura-Bouatay A, Chebel S, Frih-Ayed M, Kerkeni A, Bost M, Chazot G, Sfar M T, Sfar M H
Tunis Med. 2013 Jun;91(6):402-5.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The etiology of this disease is still not fully clear, but free radicals have been proposed to cause neuronal injury. Metals play a key role in the intracellular oxidative balance. However their implication in the degeneration process remains unknown.
To assess Cu, Zn and Se concentrations in serum of a group of PD patients in order to determinate, in comparison with age-matched controls, whether alteration in their levels could be involved in PD.
A serum level of 3 trace elements (Cu, Zn and Se) was investigated in 48 patients with PD and 36 matched controls using plasma atomic absorption spectrometry. We compared these parameters in PD patients with controls, and we also compared the variations within the PD group according to age, illness duration, stage of the disease and levodopa intake.
Patients with PD had significantly lower Cu levels compared to controls. The mean Zn and Se levels in PD patients did not differ significantly from those of controls. Levodopa therapy, age, stage, and illness duration did not significantly influence the measured parameters.
These results suggest that a disturbance of the plasmatic rate of Cu could be a marker of PD or at least, a risk factor for the development of this disease. Although zinc participates to the reduction of oxidative stress and the antioxidant role of the selenium, their implication in the onset of PD is not clearly established. Perspectives for the future could include antioxidant therapy. For this reason, other prospective studies should be conducted on this subject to elucidate the implication of trace elements in PD.
帕金森病（PD）是一种进行性神经退行性疾病。该病的病因仍不完全清楚，但自由基被认为可导致神经元损伤。金属在细胞内氧化平衡中起关键作用。然而，它们在退变过程中的作用仍不清楚。
评估一组帕金森病患者血清中的铜、锌和硒浓度，以便与年龄匹配的对照组相比，确定这些元素水平的改变是否与帕金森病有关。
采用血浆原子吸收光谱法对48例帕金森病患者和36例匹配的对照者的血清中3种微量元素（铜、锌和硒）水平进行了检测。我们将帕金森病患者的这些参数与对照组进行了比较，还根据年龄、病程、疾病分期和左旋多巴摄入量对帕金森病组内的变化进行了比较。
与对照组相比，帕金森病患者的铜水平显著降低。帕金森病患者的平均锌和硒水平与对照组无显著差异。左旋多巴治疗、年龄、分期和病程对所测参数无显著影响。
这些结果表明，血浆铜比率的紊乱可能是帕金森病的一个标志物，或者至少是该疾病发生的一个危险因素。虽然锌参与氧化应激的减轻和硒的抗氧化作用，但它们在帕金森病发病中的作用尚未明确确立。未来的研究方向可能包括抗氧化治疗。因此，应就此主题开展其他前瞻性研究，以阐明微量元素在帕金森病中的作用。
