• Toxic element exposure: Known or suspected exposure to potentially toxic metals.
• Detoxification context: Baseline assessment or monitoring during chelation or detoxification therapy.
• Energy and neurological concerns: Fatigue, cognitive changes or Parkinson’s-like symptoms.
• Cardiometabolic health: Hypertension, cardiovascular disease or impaired glucose tolerance.
• Renal and mineral handling: Kidney function concerns or suspected mineral wasting.
• Skin, hair and tissue health: Alopecia, dermatitis or poor wound healing.
• Immune and inflammatory patterns: Chronic inflammation or altered immune function.
• Nutritional status: Suspected mineral deficiencies or imbalance.

The Urine Toxic and Essential Elements (timed or 24 hour) Pre test measures a broad range of toxic and essential elements excreted in urine using ICP-MS and related analytical techniques. Samples may be collected as a timed or full 24-hour urine collection, with results expressed per 24 hours or corrected to creatinine to account for urine dilution.

This test is clinically useful for assessing current circulating exposure to toxic elements and patterns of essential element excretion before any chelation or provocation. Measuring unprovoked urinary excretion allows practitioners to explore ongoing exposure, renal handling of elements and potential wasting of key nutrients, which cannot be inferred from blood testing alone.

Practitioners typically use pre-provocation results as a baseline, alongside clinical history, environmental exposure, renal function and dietary intake. Findings may be compared with post-provocation testing or repeat measurements to contextualise elemental patterns when working with clients.

Practical

Specimen requirements:

Urine

Average processing time:

10 ±4 days

Research

• 24-hour provoked urine excretion test for heavy metals in children with autism and typically developing controls, a pilot study. Clin Toxicol. 2007;45:476-481.

• Adams J, Audhya T, McDonough-Means S et al. Toxicological Status of Children with Autism vs. Neurotypical Children and the Association with Autism Severity. Biological Trace Element Research. 2012;151(2):171-180.

• Adams J, Howsmon D, Kruger U et al. Significant Association of Urinary Toxic Metals and Autism-Related Symptoms—A Nonlinear Statistical Analysis with Cross Validation. PLOS ONE. 2017;12(1).

• Crinnion WJ. The benefits of pre- and Post challenge urine heavy metal testing; part II. Altern Med Rev. 2009;14(2):103-108

• Crinnion WJ. The benefits of pre- and post-challenge urine heavy metal testing: Part 1. Altern Med Rev. 2009;14(1):3-8.

• Desoto MC. A reply to Soden et al.: your data shows autistic children have higher levels of heavy metals. Clinical Toxicology. 2008;46(10):1098-1098.

• Molina-Villalba I, Lacasaña M, Rodríguez-Barranco M, et al. Biomonitoring of arsenic, cadmium, lead, manganese and mercury in urine and hair of children living near mining and industrial areas. Chemosphere. 2015;124:83-91.

• Pesch A, Wilhelm M, Rostek U, et al. Mercury concentrations in urine, scalp hair and saliva in children from Germany. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. 2002;12(4):252-258.