J Korean Rheum Assoc.  1995 Jul;2(2):126-132.

The Effect of Bucillamine of Trace Element Levels of Hair in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Jun JB
• Kim DY
• Kim TH
• Kim SY
• Kim PN
• Jung SS
• Lee IH
• Bae SC
• Yoo DH
• Kim SK
• Kim SY
• Choi BS

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
We investigated the changes of trace element levels in hair of patients with rheumatoid arthritis after bucillamine treatment.
METHODS
We performed inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry in determination of trace element levels in hair of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
RESULTS
The results were as follows: 1) There was a significant increase of copper concentration, but no change in zinc level after bucillamine treatment. 2) There were no significant changes in copper and zinc concentrations between the proximal and distal portions of hair after long-term bucillamine treatment.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results showed the significant increase of copper level and no significant change of zinc level in hair after bucillamine treatment, but, although statistically not significant, copper and zinc levels were decreased on experiment with divided hair. So, our findings do not permit any conclusion on the influence of bucillamine on trace element levels in hair. Further studies in large samples and comparison with the effect of D-penicillamine will be necessary to clarify the association of trace element levels in hair of rheumatoid arthritis patients and bucillamine treatment.

Keyword

Rheumatoid arthritis; Trace element; Hair; Bucillamine

MeSH Terms

Arthritis, Rheumatoid*
Copper
Hair*
Humans
Penicillamine
Plasma
Spectrum Analysis
Zinc
Copper
Penicillamine
Zinc