Metals Urine Test

Heavy metals toxicity caused by increasing levels of pollution and use of chemicals in industry is a growing threat to our health and development of our children. High levels of toxic metals deposited in body tissues and subsequently in the brain, may cause significant developmental and neurological damage.

A Metals Hair Test is ideal for checking current exposure to toxic metals. With respect to its contained elements, hair is essentially an excretory tissue rather than a functional tissue. Hair provides important information which can assist the practitioner with an early diagnosis of physiological disorders associated with aberrations in essential and toxic element metabolism.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stated in a recent report that “...if hair samples are properly collected and cleaned, and analyzed by the best analytic methods, using standards and blanks as required, in a clean and reliable laboratory by experienced personnel, the data are reliable.” (U.S.E.P.A. 600/4-79-049)

The CDC acknowledges that hair mercury levels provide a valuable maternal and infant marker for exposure to neurotoxic methylmercury from fish.

Why Choose Metals Urine Test?

Urine toxic and essential elements analysis is an invaluable tool for the assessment of retention of toxic metals in the body and the status of essential nutrient elements. Toxic metals do not have any useful physiological function, adversely affect almost every organ system and disrupt the homeostasis of nutrient elements.

Analysis of the levels of toxic metals in urine after the administration of a metal detoxification agent is an objective way to evaluate the accumulation of toxic metals. Acute metal poisoning is rare. More common, however, is a chronic, low-level exposure to toxic metals that can result in significant retention in the body that can be associated with a vast array of adverse health effects and chronic disease. One cannot draw valid conclusions about adverse health effects of metals without assessing net retention. For an individual, toxicity occurs when net retention exceeds physiological tolerance. Net retention is determined by the difference between the rates of assimilation and excretion of metals. To evaluate net retention, one compares the levels of metals in urine before and after the administration of a pharmaceutical metal detoxification agent such as EDTA, DMSA or DMPS. Different compounds have different affinities for specific metals, but all function by sequestering “hidden” metals from deep tissue stores and mobilizing the metals to the kidneys for excretion in the urine. Guidelines for collection periods after administration of the most commonly utilized agents are provided in the table below:

Common Agents	Half Life	Collection Period
EDTA	~1 hr	6 – 24 hrs
DMPS (IV)	~1 hr	2 – 6 hrs
DMPS (oral)	~9 hrs	6 – 9 hrs
DMSA	4 hrs	6 – 9 hrs

It is important to perform both pre-and post-provocation urinalysis to permit distinction between ongoing exposures to metals (pre-) and net bodily retention. The pre-provocation urine collection can also be utilized to assess the rate of creatinine clearance if a serum specimen is also submitted.

Many clinicians also request the analysis of essential elements in urine specimens to evaluate nutritional status and the efficacy of mineral supplementation during metal detoxification therapy. Metal detoxification agents can significantly increase the excretion of specific nutrient elements such as zinc, copper, manganese, and molybdenum.

Chromium metabolism authorities suggest that 24-hour chromium excretion likely provides the best assessment of chromium status. Early indication of renal dysfunction can be gleaned from urinary wasting of essential elements such as magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium in an unprovoked specimen.

Benefits of the Metals Testing

Brochure

Analyte List

Essential: Barium, Boron, Calcium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Lithium, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium, Sodium, Strontium, Sulfur, Vanadium, Zinc, and Zirconium; Toxic: Aluminum, Antimony, Arsenic, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, Nickel, Platinum, Thallium, Thorium, Tin, Tungsten, Uranium

Turn Around Time

The turn around time for this test is 2-3 weeks, unless unforeseen circumstances arise.

Specimen Requirements

The random urine collection requires 40 mL of urine as the absolute minimum. 50 mL is preferred. A chelating agent is recommended for best results.

The timed and 24 hour urine collection requires the patient to collect every urine specimen over a specified period of time. The physician will determine the collection time based on the type of chelating used or the evaluation needed for comparison. If using a chelating agent, the patient should take the chelating agent 1 hour prior to starting the collection of specimen.

CPT Codes

80178 82108 82175 82300 82495 82525 82570 83018*17 83540 83655 83735 83785 83825 83885 84100 84133 84255 84300 84630

Kit Instructions

For urine instructions and protocol for collecting urine for a metal challenge test please click here.