Plasma level of trace elements in patients with oral lichen planus

Background: oral lichen planus (olp) is a common inflammatorydisease of unknown origins. recent studies have considerednutritional factors concerning the pathogenesis of manyautoimmune disorders. the objective of the present study was toinvestigate the plasma levels of magnesium (mg), calcium (ca),zinc (zn), copper (cu), and iron (fe) in this disorder.methods: included in this observational case-control study was40 patients with olp and 40 age and sex matched healthy controlsubjects. plasma levels of mg, ca, zn, cu, and fe were specifiedusing an autoanalizer.results: the serum level of ca was higher, but mg, cu, fe andzn serum concentration did not differ significantly between thepatients with olp and the healthy controls. mean zn concentrationwas lower in patients with erosive lichen planus compared to thenon-erosive group and the healthy controls. however, only thedifference between erosive lichen planus patients and healthyparticipants was significant. the mean zn level was lower thanthe normal range (70 μg/dl) in both the cases and controls.the concentration of fe was significantly higher in men malepatients than in females; however, the difference between menand women was not significant in the healthy control group. themean cu/zn ratios in erosive and patient groups were slightlyhigher compared with the controls.conclusion: trace elements such as ca may play a role in theethiopathogenesis of olp. nevertheless, other elements such aszn or cu may influence olp, which requires further evaluationon larger samples.