Summary
Free amino acids together with copper, iron and zinc were measured in sera of 67 adult
patients with thyrotoxicosis (n = 29) or hypothyroidism (n = 38). In contradistinction
to the almost indifferences exhibited by the three metals, many amino acids displayed
significant relationships with the thyrometabolic activity (mainly tyrosine and arginine
with r values of 0.5 and 0.44, respectively). Additional analyses revealed certain
patterns, between trace metals and amino acids, which conferred challenging difficulties
to interpretation. Thus while zinc was associated positively with some amino acids
(such as glutamic acid and alanine), copper correlated almost invariably in a negative
manner with citrulline, α-amino-butyric acid, proline, glycine and valine. This new
information should contribute to our knowledge of the complex metabolism of both trace
metals and amino acids.
Key words
Copper - Iron - Zinc - Amino Acids - Thyroid
