Researchers
have discovered that many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
do not receive the recommended daily allowance of important trace
minerals such as calcium, zinc, magnesium, and selenium from their
diets.1,2 This may be one reason that controlled studies show patients
with rheumatoid arthritis having plasma and red blood cell selenium
levels that are much lower than those measured in healthy controls.3,4
Selenium plays an important role in the body's immune defense and
inflammatory responses; optimal levels are critical for the function
of antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase, which may
reduce the free radical damage associated with the progression of
rheumatoid arthritis.
Zinc
may also be fundamental element involved in RA mechanisms. A recent
preliminary study revealed that urinary excretion of zinc was much
lower in patients with RA than in healthy controls. Twenty-four
hours after ingesting a 50 mg zinc tablet, zinc plasma levels for
the RA patients showed no significant change, while those of controls
rose significantly. These results point to abnormal zinc metabolism
in RA patients, which may lead to malabsorption and chronic zinc
deficiency.5
Elevated
levels of copper, on the other hand, have been linked with the disease
severity of RA, and have also been implicated in the development
of pathological lesions associated with RA.6,7
Elemental
Analysis (hair, urine, or packed erythrocytes)
measures levels of crucial toxic and mineral elements in the body
using a variety of different specimen types. Hair analysis exposes
long-term imbalances and chronic deficiencies. Urine provides a
unique window on more recent toxic exposure, nutriture status and
chelation therapy, while red blood cells are the most sensitive
indicators of how mineral levels may be affecting cellular function.
Related
Information: Rheumatoid Arthritis and Oxidative Stress
References:
1 Stone J, Doube A, Dudson D, Wallace J. Inadequate calcium, folic
acid,vitamin E, zinc, and selenium intake in rhematoid arthritis
arthritis patients: results of a dietary survey. Semin Arthritis
Rheum 1997;23(3):180-185.
2 Kremer JM, Bigaouette J. Nutrient intake of patients with rheumatoid
arthritis is deficient in pyridoxine, zinc, copper, and magnesium.
J Rheumatol 1996;23(6):990-994.
3 Kose K, Dogan P, Kardas Y, Saraymen R. Plasma selenium levels
in rheumatoid arthritis. Biol Trace Elem Res 1996;53(1-3):51-56.
4 Tarp U. Selenium and the selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase
in rheumatoid arthritis. Can Med Bull 1994;41(3):264-274.
5 Naveh Y, Schapira D, Ravel Y, Geller E, Scharf Y. Zinc metabolism
in rheumatoid arthritis: plasma and urinary zinc and relationship
to disease activity. J Rheumatol 1997;24(4):643-646.
6 Grennan DM, Knudson JM, Dunckley J, MacKinnon MJ, Myers DB, Palmer
DG. Serum copper and zinc in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
N Z Med J 1980;91(652):47-50.
7 Youseff AA,Wood B, Baron DN. Serum copper: a marker of disease
activity in rheumatoid arthritis. J Clin Pathol 1983;36(1):14-17.
All lab tests can be done through the mail in the privacy of your
own home, except blood tests, we send you to a lab to have your
blood drawn for these. After you pay for the test we mail you the
kit, the results take two weeks, the test results will be mailed
to us and we will call you to go over the results, its that easy!
All tests include the consultation for the report of findings.
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