Effect of Desferrioxamine on Urinary Copper and Zinc Excretion in -Thalassemia Major Patients Nejat Akar,* Mustafa Tekin, Zu ¨ mru ¨ t Uysal, and O ¨ mer Uzunali Pediatric Hematology Department, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey Twenty-one -thalassemia major patients were included to study urinary zinc and copper excretion before and after high dose desferrioxamine (DF). The mean basal zinc excretion (1193.72 ± 1079.64 g/24 hr) was higher than the mean zinc excretion observed in controls (427.6 ± 74.37 g/24 hr) (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between urinary copper levels of patients (185.48 ± 175.45 g/dl) and the control group (150.0 ± 37 g/dl) (P > 0.05). No significant difference was observed between the mean basal zinc levels and zinc levels after treatment (1751.06 ± 1462.72 g/24 hr) (P > 0.05). Although the mean copper excretion was decreased following DF treatment (164.16 ± 117.8 g/dl), the dif- ference was not significant (P > 0.1). There was a significant interaction for urinary copper and zinc excretion (r  0.413; P < 0.05). J. Trace Elem. Exp. Med. 13:195–198, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Key words: thalassemia; zinc; copper INTRODUCTION In homozygote -thalassemia, iron accumulates in the liver, heart, and endocrine glands, deteriorating their function. Presently, the safest and most effective way to prevent the harmful effects of iron accumulation is treatment with desferrioxamine (DF), which binds iron and facilitates its excretion [1]. Urinary zinc excretion is markedly elevated in many clinical situations, including homozygote -thalassemia major cases leading to chronic zinc deficiency [2–5]. Our previous study demonstrated that Zn excretion in urine is higher than normal in homozygote -thalassemia cases even without DF therapy and is not further increased by DF [6]. Hypercupremia is a consistent finding in beta thalassemia major patients [7–9]. Virgilis et al. [10] studied the effect of zinc and copper excretion in -thalassemia major patients, who showed urinary copper levels within normal levels before and even after high DFO therapy. However, the study included three patients showing a decrease of urinary copper excretion during high dose DF therapy. All of their study patients showed marked increases in urinary zinc excretion [10]. This study was performed to determine the effect of DF on urinary zinc and copper excretion in beta thalassemia patients. *Correspondence to: Nejat Akar, M.D., Yargıc ¸ Sok. 11/4, 06590 Cebeci, Ankara, Turkey. Received 19 December 1997; Accepted 3 March 1999 The Journal of Trace Elements in Experimental Medicine 13:195–198 (2000) © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc. PROD #197-018