Significance of blood cadmium concentrations in patients with renal disorders or essential hypertension and the normal population

Does Cadmium Contribute to the Development of Renal Parenchymal Hypertension?

In our study we investigated 36 out-patients with renal disease, 22 of whom were hypertensive. In all patients proteinuria was present (4.30 ± 5.05 g protein/day) and kidney diseases were verified by renal biopsy. Blood cadmium in non-smokers was significantly (p< 0.05) lower than in smokers. We found a positive correlation between cadmium-concentration of blood and urine (p<0.01, R = 0.44) and between cadmium-concentration of blood and blood uric acid (p< 0.01, R = 0.44). Proteinuria was weakly correlated with cadmium concentration of urine (p<0.05, R = 0.35). Patients with renal hypertension showed a significantly higher (p< 0.05) urine cadmium excretion per day (1.60 ± 1.12 μg/day) compared to normotensives with a disease of the kidney (1.14 ± 1.47 μg/day). Our results indicate that cadmium may be involved in the development of hypertension in patients with renal disease.

Selenium and vitamin E in relation to risk factors for coronary heart disease

Fasting blood samples taken from 116 apparently healthy men aged 30-50 years were assayed for selenium, glutathione peroxidase activity, vitamin E, cadmium, lead, glucose, lipids, and albumin. Blood pressure was measured in each subject, and details of height, weight, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption were recorded. Multivariate analysis of the data showed that the decrease in blood and serum concentrations of selenium and the increase in whole blood cadmium concentrations in the cigarette smokers was independent of alcohol consumption. There was no correlation between blood selenium concentrations or glutathione peroxidase activities and the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Neither alcohol consumption nor smoking had an effect on the vitamin E concentrations. There was a strong association, however, between vitamin E and serum lipid concentrations, although the increase in triglyceride concentrations in the smokers was not matched by a comparable increase in vitamin E. The possible role of selenium in the aetiology of heart disease remains unresolved.

A comparative study of zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead levels in fertile and infertile men

Eighty infertile men and 38 men of known fertility were studied for investigation of both the importance of zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead to fertility and the possible interrelationships between these trace elements. The infertile men had higher mean concentrations of plasma copper than those of proven fertility. The difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.01) but was of small magnitude (approximately 1.5 mumol mean difference). The concentrations of plasma zinc, erythrocyte zinc, whole blood lead and cadmium, and seminal plasma zinc and copper did not differ significantly between infertile and fertile men. There was a significant positive relationship between sperm density and seminal plasma zinc concentration in the fertile, but not in the infertile, men. The infertile men with antisperm antibodies or counts greater than 20 million/ml had significantly higher mean levels of seminal plasma zinc than infertile men with oligospermia. The higher semen zinc in these two groups may reflect an abnormal fragility of the spermatozoa, resulting in the release of zinc, but the absence of significant overall differences between fertile and infertile men suggests that measurement of the concentration of zinc in plasma or zinc and copper in seminal plasma has little value in the routine investigation of infertility.

Method for the simultaneous determination of cadmium and zinc in whole blood by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and measurement in normotensive and hypertensive humans

A method is described for the analysis of whole blood cadmium and zinc by extraction and atomic absorption spectrophotometry, in which cadmium is analyzed using a graphite furnace, and zinc using an air-acetylene flame with a single slot burner, after dilution of the extract. Recoveries for cadmium and zinc were 100% and 106%, respectively. For cadmium the day-to-day and within-run coefficients of variation were all less than 13% at low concentrations (approximately 27 nmol/1) and 6% or less at high concentrations (approximately 89 nmol/1). For zinc the coefficients of variation for day-to-day and within-run analyses were less than 6% at low (approximately 76 mumol/1) and high concentrations (approximately 138 mumol/1). The sensitivity of the procedure is 0.5 nmol/1 for cadmium and 1.2 mu mol/1 for zinc. Whole blood from 72 normotensive volunteers, 56 treated hypertensives, and 15 untreated hypertensives were analyzed using this method. Cadmium levels were elevated in smokers but not significantly affected by age or sex. Zinc levels were higher in males than in females, but not significantly affected by smoking. Levels of cadmium and zinc were increased in treated hypertensives and greater still in untreated hypertensives. Significant elevations were found for cadmium in treated hypertensive females who smoked, treated and untreated hypertensive male non-smokers, and for the cadmium to zinc ratio in these later two groups.