BIOMONITORING OF NICKEL IN POPULATION OF ENDEMIC NEPHROPATHY SETTLEMENTS. A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Endemic nephropathy (EN) is a disease of unknown 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 hypo endemic 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 hypo endemic settlements (target group), or in the urban zone of municipality of Nis (control group). The nickel presence was determined using method of atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The nickel concentration in the urine is higher in the endemic/hypo endemic 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 hypo endemic 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