Evaluation of Serum Levels of Zinc, Copper, Iron, and Zinc/Copper Ratio in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Abstractbackground: the purpose of this study was to evaluate the levels of zinc (zn), copper (cu), iron (fe) and zinc/ copperratio in the serum of patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis in qom province, center of iran.methods: serum levels of zinc and copper were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer andserum iron concentration was measured by using an auto analyzer. the study group consisted of 60 patients withcutaneous leishmaniasis and the control group of 100 healthy volunteers from the same area who were not exposedto cutaneous leishmaniasis.result: there were no statistically significant differences in age and body mass index between the two groups. serumzn (p< 0.001) and fe (p< 0.05) levels were lower in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis than the controlgroup. we also found serum cu concentration (p< 0.05) in the patient group was significantly higher than that of thecontrol group. however, zinc/ copper ratio (p< 0.001) was lower in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis than in thecontrol group.conclusion: our data indicated that zn/cu ratio was significantly lower in patients with cl as compared to the controls.earlier reports suggest that, this ratio imbalance could be a useful marker for immune dysfunction in leishmaniasis.there was also strong association of zn, cu and fe with cl. it suggests the use of blood zinc, copper, ironconcentration and the copper/zinc ratio (zn/cu), as a means for estimating the prognosis of cl.