Multi-Metal Exposure Profiling in ALS Patients in South Korea via Hair Analysis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

IF 3.9 3区 工程技术 Q2 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Jae-Kook Yoo, Soon-Hee Kwon, Sul-Hee Yoon, Jeong-Eun Lee, Jong-Un Chun, Je-Hyuk Chung, Sang-Yoon Lee, Jeong-Hwan Lee, Yu-Ra Chae
{"title":"Multi-Metal Exposure Profiling in ALS Patients in South Korea via Hair Analysis: A Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"Jae-Kook Yoo, Soon-Hee Kwon, Sul-Hee Yoon, Jeong-Eun Lee, Jong-Un Chun, Je-Hyuk Chung, Sang-Yoon Lee, Jeong-Hwan Lee, Yu-Ra Chae","doi":"10.3390/biomedicines13061496","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with an unclear etiology. This study aimed to assess chronic heavy metal exposure in ALS patients in South Korea by comparing hair concentrations of common (Hg, Pb, Cd) and rare (U, Th, Pt) metals with healthy controls.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Hair samples were collected from 66 ALS patients and 70 healthy individuals at Rodem Hospital between 2022 and 2025. Metal concentrations were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) following standardized washing and digestion protocols.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>ALS patients showed significantly higher levels of Hg, Pb, Cd, Al, As, and U than controls (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Notably, 40% of ALS patients had Hg levels exceeding 50% of the reference upper limit, compared to only 10% of controls. Elevated levels of uranium and other rare metals were also observed in specific ALS cases.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings suggest a possible association between heavy metal exposure and ALS in South Korea. Hair analysis may serve as a useful tool for identifying environmental factors contributing to ALS pathogenesis.</p>","PeriodicalId":8937,"journal":{"name":"Biomedicines","volume":"13 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12190663/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Biomedicines","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13061496","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with an unclear etiology. This study aimed to assess chronic heavy metal exposure in ALS patients in South Korea by comparing hair concentrations of common (Hg, Pb, Cd) and rare (U, Th, Pt) metals with healthy controls.

Methods: Hair samples were collected from 66 ALS patients and 70 healthy individuals at Rodem Hospital between 2022 and 2025. Metal concentrations were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) following standardized washing and digestion protocols.

Results: ALS patients showed significantly higher levels of Hg, Pb, Cd, Al, As, and U than controls (p < 0.05). Notably, 40% of ALS patients had Hg levels exceeding 50% of the reference upper limit, compared to only 10% of controls. Elevated levels of uranium and other rare metals were also observed in specific ALS cases.

Conclusions: These findings suggest a possible association between heavy metal exposure and ALS in South Korea. Hair analysis may serve as a useful tool for identifying environmental factors contributing to ALS pathogenesis.

通过头发分析对韩国ALS患者进行多金属暴露分析:一项横断面研究。
目的:肌萎缩性侧索硬化症(ALS)是一种病因不明的进行性神经退行性疾病。本研究旨在通过比较头发中常见(Hg、Pb、Cd)和稀有(U、Th、Pt)金属与健康对照的浓度,评估韩国ALS患者的慢性重金属暴露情况。方法:于2022年至2025年在罗丹医院收集66例ALS患者和70例健康人的头发样本。采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)测量金属浓度,遵循标准化洗涤和消化方案。结果:ALS患者Hg、Pb、Cd、Al、As、U水平显著高于对照组(p < 0.05)。值得注意的是,40%的ALS患者的汞含量超过了参考上限的50%,而对照组中只有10%。在特定的ALS病例中也观察到铀和其他稀有金属的水平升高。结论:这些发现表明重金属暴露与韩国ALS之间可能存在关联。毛发分析可以作为一种有用的工具,用于识别影响ALS发病机制的环境因素。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
Biomedicines
Biomedicines Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
CiteScore
5.20
自引率
8.50%
发文量
2823
审稿时长
8 weeks
期刊介绍: Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059; CODEN: BIOMID) is an international, scientific, open access journal on biomedicines published quarterly online by MDPI.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:604180095
Book学术官方微信