Division of Clinical Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, Western Cape, South Africa.
Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Western Cape, South Africa.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2021 Feb;199(2):425-441. doi: 10.1007/s12011-020-02158-z. Epub 2020 May 2.
Trace elements are vital for a variety of functions in the brain. However, an imbalance can result in oxidative stress. It is important to ascertain the normal levels in different brain regions, as such information is still lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to provide baseline trace element concentrations from a South African population, as well as determine trace element differences between sex and brain regions. Samples from the caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus and hippocampus were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Aluminium, antimony, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, silicon, sodium, strontium, vanadium and zinc were assessed. A multiple median regression model was used to determine differences between sex and regions. Twenty-nine male and 13 female cadavers from a Western Cape, South African population were included (mean age 35 years, range 19 to 45). Trace element levels were comparable to those of other populations, although magnesium was considerably lower. While there were no sex differences, significant anatomical regional differences existed; the caudate nucleus and hippocampus were the most similar, and the globus pallidus and hippocampus the most different. In conclusion, this is the first article to report the trace element concentrations of brain regions from a South African population. Low magnesium levels in the brain may be linked to a dietary deficiency, and migraines, depression and epilepsy have been linked to low magnesium levels. Future research should be directed to increase the dietary intake of magnesium.
微量元素对大脑的各种功能至关重要。然而，不平衡会导致氧化应激。确定不同脑区的正常水平很重要，因为目前还缺乏相关信息。因此，本研究旨在提供南非人群的基础微量元素浓度，并确定性别和脑区之间的微量元素差异。使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法分析尾状核、壳核、苍白球和海马体的样本。评估了铝、锑、砷、钡、硼、镉、钙、铬、钴、铜、铁、铅、镁、锰、汞、钼、镍、磷、钾、硒、硅、钠、锶、钒和锌。使用多元中位数回归模型来确定性别和区域之间的差异。纳入了来自南非西开普省的 29 名男性和 13 名女性尸体（平均年龄 35 岁，范围 19 至 45 岁）。微量元素水平与其他人群相当，尽管镁的含量明显较低。虽然没有性别差异，但存在显著的解剖区域差异；尾状核和海马体最为相似，苍白球和海马体最为不同。总之，这是第一篇报道南非人群脑区微量元素浓度的文章。大脑中镁含量低可能与饮食中缺乏镁有关，偏头痛、抑郁症和癫痫与镁含量低有关。未来的研究应该致力于增加镁的饮食摄入。
