Description
NeuroAdvanced Profile – Add On – Urine Toxic & Essential Elements (Dried Urine) – ZRT Laboratory
EASY TO DO FROM HOME!
Please note this lab test may not be order for resident with an address in California (CA), Maryland (MD) and New York (NY). USA shipping is $15. International shipping is $40 and shipping cost is added to your order – including if other products are ordered at the same time with their own shipping charges.
NOTE: This product is an add on for the NeuroAdvanced Profile for neurotransmitter testing.
It may not be purchased unless this test for the NeuroAdvanced Profile is also purchased at the same time.
Testing For: Dried Urine: Iodine, Selenium, Bromium, Lithium, Arenic, Cadmium, Mercury.
Read More About These Essential and Toxic Metals
Iodine
- As an essential component of the active thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3), a deficiency of iodine impacts thyroid hormone synthesis and severely compromises thyroid function throughout the body.
- Adequate thyroid function is required for proper neurological development and iodine’s role in brain development and growth has long been recognized
- Children born to mothers residing in even moderately iodine-deficient areas develop behavioral, psychoneurological and intellectual difficulties.
Bromine
- In high amounts through exposure to environmental pollutants (e.g., brominated flame retardants), bromine can induce neurotoxicity by inappropriately modifying glycine, glutamate, and GABA signaling.
- Additionally, excessive bromine levels can interfere with iodine uptake into the thyroid gland, thereby preventing thyroid hormone synthesis.
- Neurological abnormalities from excessive bromine exposure can include detrimental changes in cognition and mood.
Lithium
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- Lithium, in trace amounts, has been shown to improve mood and slow the progression of dementia.
- Overall, lithium’s effects on the brain are neuroprotective, antioxidant and regenerative. Lithium can modulate monoamine oxidase activity to appropriately break down serotonin, dopamine, and phenethylamine.
Selenium
- Anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective in nature, selenium is an essential trace element that combats mercury and cadmium toxicity. Selenium is vital for proper functioning of several selenoproteins involved in antioxidant defenses in the brain and the rest of the body.
- Selenoproteins play an essential role in the activation of thyroid hormone and in glutathione production those biochemical systems, dysregulation of which is associated with neuropsychiatric manifestations.
- There appears to be an optimal selenium range in relation to depressive symptoms. Studies show that both too low and too high selenium levels are linked with oxidative and inflammatory pathways, offering a potential mechanistic explanation for the link between selenium levels and depression .
- Specifically with regard to neurotransmission, selenium displays selective inhibition of monoamine oxidase A (MAO A), an enzyme that breaks down serotonin (and dopamine to a certain extent).
- Selectively inhibiting MAO A would have a serotonin-elevating effect, and for patients afflicted with mood issues rooted in serotonin deficiency, increased serotonin may be key to feeling better. Furthermore, in dopaminergic neurons, which are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress, selenium plays a protective role and prevents neurodegeneration.
Toxic Metals
Arsenic
- Arsenic disrupts serotonin and dopamine metabolism, thus compromising neuronal health.
- Even at low-level exposure, arsenic predisposes to cognitive dysfunction and susceptibility to mood disorders.
- Additionally, arsenic can induce neuronal death by stimulating processes implicated in Alzheimer’s disease
Cadmium
- Cadmium upsets the delicate balance between glycine, glutamate, and GABA to negatively impact memory and cognition by being especially destructive to white matter in the brain.
- Cadmium exposure has detrimental effects on neurocognitive development in children, and is associated with learning disabilities, lower IQ, attention deficits, behavioral problems, and hearing loss.
Mercury
- “Mad as a hatter” cases of mercury poisoning are historically-documented examples of gold and silver mining casualties [16]. Mercury is well-known as a potent neurotoxin, which increases oxidative stress by permanently inhibiting glutathione function, thereby stripping neurons of their defensive mechanisms.
- Mercury radically skews neurotransmission – it stimulates excitatory signaling (e.g., glutamate, dopamine) and decreases inhibitory signaling (e.g., GABA).
- Mercury exposure can cause a variety of neurological symptoms, including irritability, mood swings, headaches, concentration and memory difficulties, and sleep disturbances
