| Title |
Evaluation of whole blood zinc and copper levels in children with autism spectrum disorder
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Metabolic Brain Disease, April 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s11011-016-9823-0 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Elena Cristina Crăciun, Geir Bjørklund, Alexey A. Tinkov, Mauricio A. Urbina, Anatoly V. Skalny, Florina Rad, Eleonora Dronca |
| Abstract |
Zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) are important trace elements for cognitive development and normal neurological functioning. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurological disorder, which has previously been associated with the levels of some trace elements in the blood. However, clinical data regarding the potential implication of Zn and Cu in patients with ASD are still insufficient. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the whole blood levels of Zn and Cu in a cohort of 28 children with ASD and 28 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Whole blood Zn and Cu levels were assessed using inductively-coupled plasma-sector field mass spectrometry. Both in the control and in the ASD group, the values of whole blood Cu and Zn were characterized by a Gaussian distribution. The results indicate that the ASD children were characterized by ~10 % (p = 0.005) and ~12 % (p = 0.015) lower levels of whole blood Zn and Zn/Cu ratio, respectively, in comparison to controls. No significant difference in whole blood Cu was observed. However, Cu/Zn ratio was ~15 % (p = 0.008) higher in ASD children than that in the control ones. The results of the present study may be indicative of Zn deficiency in ASD children. Taking into account Zn-mediated up-regulation of metallothionein (MT) gene expression, these findings suggest a possible alteration in the functioning of the neuroprotective MT system. However, further investigations are required to test this hypothesis. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 6 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 2 | 33% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 17% |
| Ireland | 1 | 17% |
| Unknown | 2 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 5 | 83% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 17% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 59 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 59 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 9 | 15% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 9 | 15% |
| Student > Bachelor | 6 | 10% |
| Researcher | 5 | 8% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 4 | 7% |
| Other | 12 | 20% |
| Unknown | 14 | 24% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Neuroscience | 8 | 14% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 7 | 12% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 7 | 12% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 5 | 8% |
| Psychology | 5 | 8% |
| Other | 11 | 19% |
| Unknown | 16 | 27% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 4. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 December 2016.
All research outputs
#8,001,419
of 25,654,806 outputs
Outputs from Metabolic Brain Disease
#364
of 1,184 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#105,598
of 316,150 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Metabolic Brain Disease
#7
of 19 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,654,806 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 68th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,184 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 69% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 316,150 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 66% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 19 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 63% of its contemporaries.