Copper, iron, zinc and other element concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of Parkinson's disease patients - considerations on literature data

摘要

Objective: An overview on the literature concentration data of copper, iron, zinc and other elements in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Parkinson's disease patients and paired controls was undertaken; the purposes were to obtain a comprehensive picture of the element levels and to identify their possible increasing or decreasing trends in patients. Data sources. The papers, published from 1990 to 2008, were retrieved through the data bank Medline along with the Personal Alert Service of Thomson Reuters, Philadelphia (PA). Results: The original results available in the literature are scarce, mainly due to the unpleasant drawing of the samples. No significant changes were found for Cu; an opposite trend was detected for Fe, whereas a decrement was sometimes observed for Zn. Of note, the values determined by the various authors for each of these three metals are of different levels. From a careful examination of the considered papers, it emerges that several variables (biological factors regarding controls and patients, clinical variables, analytical methods and statistical data treatments employed) influence the values obtained in each investigation. Conclusions. The inho-mogeneity of the previously mentioned variables makes the comparison among the results of the different studies rather problematical. Some indications to make investigations as meaningful as possible can be suggested: every biological and clinical datum regarding each subject enrolled should be reported; the individual concentration values about the single elements should also be shown. In this way, the results of the various trials could constitute a unique database valuable for retrospective studies, like meta-analyses.