Kingston upon Thames, Surrey Kt2 7ju Pure Trigeminal Motor Neuropathy

This study shows clear evidence of an association between dyslexia and low concentrations of zinc in sweat. As in previous studies, higher concentrations of copper, lead, and cadmium and no differences in zinc concentrations were found in hair from dyslexic children compared with controls. In a study of adults one of us (SD) found that when sweat zinc concentration is very low hair zinc concentration may be low, normal, or high and serum zinc concentration may be in the low normal range; when supplementation was given serum zinc concentrations became normal within a day or two but sweat zinc concentrations took longer to increase to the normal range.2 Ward et al studied concentrations of 37 elements in placental tissue from obstetrically normal births and showed similar mineral imbalances of (lower zinc and higher lead and cadmium concentrations), which were related to reduced head circumference in neonates.5 In animals zinc deficiency during pregnancy can cause learning impairment, behaviour disorders, and immune dysfunction persisting for several generations. Brains of animal offspring deprived of zinc have shown increased concentrations of catecholamine and copper and random permanent microscopic abnormalities in the hippocampus, which is essential for working memory. I Zinc deficiency in either parent before conception may possibly contribute to familial dyslexia. Prospective studies of zinc concentrations and the effects of supplementation before conception, during pregnancy, and in childhood are urgently needed.