| Home page||Editorial  board | About the Journal   | Instructions for Authors | Peer Review Policy | Clinical and Experimental Work Code |   Contact 
 

Acta Medica Medianae
Vol. 42
No 3, Juli, 2003
UDK 61
YU ISSN 0365-4478



Kontakt:

Dušica Stojanović
Health protection centre

Braće Tasković 50,
18000 Niš,
Serbia and Montenegro
e-mail:
dusica.s@Eunet.yu

BIOMONITORING OF NICKEL IN POPULATION OF ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY SETTLEMENTS. A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Dušica Stojanović*, Rade Čukuranović**, Natalija Stefanović***, Dragana Nikić*, Živka Kostić*, Slavimir Veljković**,Ivan Jovanović*** i Radunka Mitrović*

*    Health protection centre,Clinical Center,Nis
**  Institute for nephrology and hemodialysis,
      University Medical Center, Nis
***Anatomy department, Medical Faculty, Nis


    Endemic nephropathy (EN) is a disease of unkown etiology, and its occurrence is determined only at the Balkan peninsula. This study started form the assumption that nickel, being a highly toxic and cancerogenous substance, could be a risk factor or precipitating factor in generation of EN and urothelial tumors as well. The aim of the study was to prove the extent to which nickel, as a cancerogenous substance, is present in the urine and kidneys of inhabitants in EN settlements. As a material, 93 samples of urine and 32 samples of autopsy material were used. The urine samples were taken by the random sampling method from inhabitants of endemic and hypoendemic settlements in the valley of South Morava river, as well as from urban population of the municipality of Nis, as the control settlement. The samples of the kidney tissue represented autopsy material taken from cadavers who used to live, almost the whole life, in some of the endemic of hypoendemic settlements (target group), or in the urban zone of municipality of Nis (control group). The nickel presence was determined using method of atomic absorption spectrofotometry. The nickel concentration in the urine is higher in the endemic/hypoendemic settlements population than that in the control settlement group. The difference is not though, statistically significant. The nickel content in the kidney tissue of inhabitants from endemic or hypoendemic settlements is higher then in relevant kidney samples of inhabitants from control settlements, but the difference is not statistically significant either. Further investigations of the nickel content in biological materials are needed, along with the epidemiological study of incidence and prevalence of EN and malignant changes of the urotrackt in the endemic settlement population. Acta Medica Medianae 2003; 42(3):15-18.

Key words: nickel, urine, kidney, endemic nephropathy