Zinc, Copper, Magnesium, and Calcium in Dialyzed and Nondialyzed

Abstract

Increasingly, long-term hemodialysis is being implicated causally in the development of metabolic disturbances. Complications such as bone disease and neuropathy have been observed and the role of trace metals in their development has been questioned. In 15 uremic patients who underwent hemodialysis, plasma and erythrocyte content of zinc, copper, magnesium, and calcium was determined before and after a single dialysis and compared to values obtained in seven nondialyzed uremics. Uremic patients receiving severely restricted protein intake and not dialyzed had low plasma zinc and normal copper levels, high plasma and erythrocyte magnesium and low plasma and erythrocyte calcium levels. In dialyzed uremic patients with more liberal protein intake the plasma zinc levels approached normal. The effect of a single dialysis on these values was not striking; the role of the diet could not be ascertained.