Assessment of Zinc and Copper in Aplastic Anemia Patients

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of serum zinc and copper levels with aplastic anemia and its severity by taking healthy individuals as controls.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: This comparative cross sectional study was performed in Department of Pathology, Laboratory, Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro, and Hyderabad from January 2019 to June 2019. All the aplastic anemia diagnosed patients were selected including in equal number normal population as control. Seven ml blood sample was collected from subjects and healthy control, which was kept in gel-holding vacutainers and it was centrifuged at the rpm of 3,500 for ten minutes, and serum specimen were put in storage at −80 ºC until analysis. Serum copper and zinc concentrations were computed on microlab 300 .The data was entered in SPSS V.20.

Results: In this study total 36 aplastic anemiacases were studied to evaluate the serum copper level and serum zinc level and 36 cases were taken as control. Mean age of patients was 18.13+22.25 years and mean age of controls was 22.24+5.95 years (p=0.099). Findings regarding gender were statistically insignificant, (p-value 0.814). Average of copper was significantly higher as20.68±28.33 umol/l  in contrast to controls (p-value 0.081). Average Zinc level was also markedly decreased in patients 10.52±29.49 umol/l in contrast to controls (p=0.031).

CONCLUSION: In the observation of studyserum zinc was markedly decreased, while serum copper was significantly elevated in patients of aplastic anemia patientsas compared to normal population.