Red Blood Cell (RBC) Elements

The Red Blood Cell (RBC) Element analysis is useful for the assessment of ongoing or recent exposure to specific toxic metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, methylmercury and thallium, that accumulate preferentially in erythrocytes. It is also an invaluable method for assessing insufficiency or excess of elements that have important functions within cells or on blood cell membranes. RBC element levels are very useful for cardiotonic influences (magnesium, potassium), anti-inflammatory processes (selenium, copper, zinc), anaemia (copper, iron), immunological function (zinc, copper, magnesium) and glucose tolerance (chromium, manganese and possibly vanadium).
Accurate assessment of essential element status is highly recommended for the determination of appropriate supplementation and for assessment of ongoing or very recent exposure to specific toxic elements that accumulate preferentially in erythrocytes. It is important to keep in mind that elevated levels of the toxic elements in these cells reflect only recent or ongoing exposure and do not provide information about the net retention of the metals in the body.