Uremic hyperstannum: elevated tissue tin levels associated with uremia.

Previous work has shown that the concentration of the essential trace element tin is elevated in several tissues of dialyzed uremic patients. Analysis of 80 postmortem liver samples from controls and nondialyzed uremic and dialyzed uremic patients now shows that nondialyzed uremic patients also have abnormally high tin concentrations, averaging about three times that of controls. It is concluded that these elevated tin levels are associated with uremia rather than with dialysis. Abnormally high tin levels were also found in the kidneys of uremic patients at autopsy. This may have special importance, since tin has been shown to be a powerful inducer of heme oxygenase activity in rat kidney. The urinary excretion of tin by nondialysed uremic patients was measured and found to be normal.