Assessment of Serum Magnesium, Copper, and Zinc Levels in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Patients

Multiple sclerosis (ms) is a chronic disease with prominent neurological, behavioral andpsychiatric manifestations and unknown etiology which is demarcated with inflammation and destruction ofwhite matter of brain and spinal cord and its replacement with gliotic tissue in young aged people, particularlyfemales. the role of trace elements in multiple sclerosis is set forth in several studies and we are going toevaluate it in these patients in kashan-iran.methods: serum magnesium, zinc, and copper levels from 35 ms patients (28 females and 7 males) weremeasured by an eliza method and results were compared with data from healthy matched controls, and dataanalyzed using t test.results: mean age of patients in this study was 32.3± 6.4 years and 28 (80%) were in age range of 20 to 40.the incidence of ms was found to be 11.6 in 100,000 populations in kashan district which is a moderateincidence. muscle weakness (80%), visual disturbances (57.1%), and paresthesia (34.2%) were the mostcommon clinical presentations. mean serum levels of magnesium, copper, and zinc in ms patients weresignificant lower than control group (1.87 ± 0.37 , 110.7 ± 19.5 , 85.4 ± 13.5 vs. 2.22 ± 0.24 , 133.7 ± 13.4 ,110 ± 8.3 respectively) (p< 0.001). the most common clinical pattern of the disease was recurrent ms in 54.2%of cases.conclusion: supplementation therapy for ms patients may be a sevious future, consideration.iranian journal of psychiatry and behavioral sciences (ijpbs), volume 1, number 2, autumn and winter 2007: 38-42.