Pilot study of homeostatic alterations of mineral elements in serum of patients with age-related macular degeneration via elemental and isotopic analysis using ICP-mass spectrometry

Publication date: Available online 7 September 2019Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical AnalysisAuthor(s): Marta Aranaz, Marta Costas-Rodríguez, Lara Lobo, Héctor González-Iglesias, Frank Vanhaecke, Rosario PereiroAbstractAge-related macular degeneration (AMD), the main cause of irreversible blindness in people over 60 years of age, is an eye disease that evolves with loss of central vision. Although AMD manifests itself in the eye, blood is continuously flowing through the macular region, such that potential alterations in this region could be reflected in the composition of whole blood or plasma/serum. Therefore, the potential clinical relevance of analysis of serum samples was assessed because of the low degree of invasiveness of blood sampling. 40 initial samples (20 from controls and 20 from patients with the dry form of AMD) have been analysed in this work to investigate the possible occurrence of homeostatic alterations of essential mineral elements caused by the disease. Both major (Na, Mg, P and K) and trace (Fe, Cu and Zn) essential mineral elements were determined in blood serum using single-collector ICP-mass spectrometry. Also, the isotopic composition of Cu (an element proposed to be directly involved in the onset of AMD) was determined using multi-collector ICP-mass spectrometry. Unexpected light Cu isotopic compositions in three individuals assumed as controls, resulted in a re-evaluation of their clinical information and a later exclusion due t...
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research