Thyroid disorders-assessments of trace elements, clinical, and laboratory parameters

Abstract

The trace elements studied in this work (Se, Cu, Zn) are the essential constituents or cofactors required to activate numerous enzymes and proteins, playing crucial role in various physiological processes. The disturbed levels of abovementioned elements may adversely affect the endocrine system, resulting in various thyroid disorders among other upsets. The aim of this study was to investigate possible associations between them and parameters of redox balance, thyroid function indices as well as clinical records (duration of disease and therapy, lag time between thyroid surgery and this study examination, LT4 dosage) in patients with different thyroid disorders, including malignant diseases of the gland. In the group of patients with papillary carcinoma, we found a statistically significant higher Cu concentration compared with controls and patients with Hashimoto disease. In the same groups, the parameter of Zn/Cu ratio demonstrated reciprocally arranged statistically significant differences. For the group of papillary cancer patients, there was a negative correlation between lag time since thyroid operation and GPX3 activity. Our data support hypothesis of indirect involvement of Zn and Cu in thyroid regulation. For selenium, lack of simple correlation between its serum level and thyroid indices implies the need for further research on other selenium status parameters more adequately depicting changes in endocrine system.