PRE- AND POSTOPERATIVE EXCRETION OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN PRIMARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM

ABSTRACT A comparison of the range of urinary excretion of 20 elements (Ag, As, Au, Br, Ce, Cd, Cs, Cu, Fe, Hg, La, Mg, Mo, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, W, Zn) in healthy subjects as well as in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism before and after operation was performed by means of a recently developed ion-exchange technique following neutron activation analysis. The urinary levels of the 20 trace elements showed no distinct differences when the controls were compared with the untreated cases of hyperparathyroidism. Small differences in the urinary excretion of certain trace elements in patients with hyperparathyroidism before and after operation were, however, revealed. The biological significance of these findings is discussed.