Background: Various uses of metals in industries, including the domestic sphere, agriculture, medicine and technology, have led to their wide distribution in the environment. These result in raising concerns over their potential effects on human health and the environment. Because of their high degree of toxicity, Cd, Cr and Pb are some of the priority metals that are of public health significance. The levels of Cd, Cr, Pb and Ni were measured in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.
Methods: Blood samples were collected from 40 patients and 40 healthy controls, and stored at -80 °C until assayed. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used to determine the levels of metals.
Results: The level of Pb was significantly decreased in patients than in controls. However, the difference in the level of Ni between patients and controls failed to reach significance. Cr was not detectable in patients, but it was measurable in 12 controls (controls = 0.056-2.397 µg/ml). Similarly, Cd was not detectable in patients, but it was measurable in all the controls (controls = 0.004-1.268 µg/ml). Pb was the only metal that was found in all study participants (PD = 0.012-2.758 µg/ml and controls = 0.779-9.840 µg/ml). Ni could be measured only in six patients and in all the controls (PD = 0.154-0.754 µg/ml and controls = 0.034-1.691 µg/ml).
Conclusion: Patients exhibited significantly decreased levels of Pb than in controls. However, Cd, Cr and Ni were too low to be measured among the patients. This indicates that these metals might play a probable role in PD.
Keywords: Cd; Cr; Ni; Parkinson's disease; Pb; atomic absorption spectrophotometry.