THE ROLE OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN THE ETIOLOGY OF ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSMS

THE ROLE OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN THE ETIOLOGY OF ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSMS

Ahmet Tansel Çörtelekoğlu, *Cengiz Köksal, **Meltem Ercan, Ahmet Kürşat Bozkurt, Kazım Beşirli, Hasan Tüzün, Ayla Gürel Sayın

İstanbul Üniversitesi Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi, Kalp Damar Cerrahisi Ana Bilim Dalı, İstanbul
*SSK Süreyyapaşa Hastanesi, Kalp Damar Cerrahisi Kliniği, İstanbul
**İstanbul Üniversitesi Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi, Biofizik Ana Bilim Dalı, İstanbul

Background: Atherosclerozis is the most common disease of infrarenal aorta which takes a significant part in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) etiology. There seems to be a considerable relationship between atherosclerosis and aneurysms but the biological process which leads to aneurysm in a case and occlusive disease in another case remains uncertain. In this study, our aim is to investigate the role of trace elements in the AAA etiology excluding proteolisis.

Methods: Aortic wall samples were received from 40 patients who were operated on for AAA (n = 20) and Leriche syndrome (n = 20) between 1998 and 2001. We examined copper, zinc and iron levels in these samples.

Results: Comparing with the Leriche group, copper and iron levels were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in aneurysm group. No significant difference in zinc levels between two groups was encountered.

Conclusions: One of the problems threating the cell structure is lipid peroxidation. Zinc takes part in the detoxification of free oxigen radicals while iron and copper are taking part in peroxidative process. So that an increase in the level of iron and copper also means an increase in lipid peroxidation. As a result, we consider that the changing levels of trace elements within the atherosclerotic artery wall may increase lipid peroxidation and decrease antioxidant capasity and these changes cause an aneurysmatic dilatation in arterial wall.

Keywords : Atherosclerosis, trace element, abdominal aortic aneurysm, Leriche syndrome

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