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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
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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
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