Venous insufficiency: Differences in the content of trace elements. A preliminary report, Adv Clin Exp Med.
2018

“...Discussion
Similar research has already been done, but there is very little literature available for comparison. The pioneer study of ferrous content in veins was performed by Krzysciak et al. (6) One of the mechanisms involved in chronic venous disease is the destructive effect of free oxygen and free nitrogen radicals. The authors showed that Fe ions were involved in the oxidative damage mechanism, which caused tissue altering via the Fenton reaction. Oxidative stress correlated with insufficiency in the venous tissue, and increased SOD activity was observed compared to normal venous tissue. (15) An increased level of iron in the skin of patients with chronic venous disease was described by Myers in 1966. (43) Degradation of hemoglobin, as well as Fe release, was associated with erythrocyte dysfunction. Moosavi et al. showed increased concentrations of iron and copper in the walls of varicose veins compared to controls, using a proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis...”

“...Conclusions
This paper shows the levels of certain ions in insufficient and normal veins, particularly the differences between the concentrations of Mg, Mn, Ca, and Si. This study is preliminary in nature, but the data obtained suggests that the oxidative damage mechanism is involved in the development of varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency...”

Full paper: http://www.advances.umed.wroc.pl/pdf/2018/27/5/695.pdf