Slow turnover of manganese in active rheumatoid arthritis accelerated by prednisone

• Text
• PDF

Abstract

Total body and area counts of intravenously injected 54Mn were measured periodically in 29 in-patients. A heterogeneous group of 19 control patients showed fair reproducibility in the immediate distribution, and considerable individual variance in the subsequent loss of the isotope. Eight studies of the effects of feeding excesses of manganous sulfate to five patients showed acceleration of the rate of loss of the radioisotope from the whole body and the liver. These findings seem compatible with the presence of control mechanisms in man, operating to vary the metal's excretion, while tending to preserve constancy of its concentration in tissues.

Authors

George C. Cotzias, Paul S. Papavasiliou, Edwin R. Hughes, Lily Tang, Donald C. Borg