BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to evaluate plasma levels of zinc in children with celiac disease, to correlate plasma zinc levels among the celiacs with short stature and diarrhea and to compare plasma zinc levels in deficient patients on gluten-free diet (GFD) with or without 4 weeks of zinc supplementation. METHODS A total of 134 patients underwent plasma zinc estimation...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Although globally the numbers of children diagnosed with failure to thrive (FTT) have decreased, FTT is still a serious pediatric problem. We aimed to investigate the effects of zinc supplementation for 6 months on growth parameters of infants and children with FTT. SUBJECTS/METHODS In this retrospective study, of the 114 participants aged between 4 months and 6 years, 8...

Iron deficiency is prevalent in children and infants worldwide. Zinc deficiency may be prevalent, but data are lacking. Both iron and zinc deficiency negatively affect growth and psychomotor development. Combined iron and zinc supplementation might be beneficial, but the potential interactions need to be verified. In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial using 2 x 2 factorial design, 609 Thai ...

BACKGROUND Prevention of diarrhea has presented indomitable challenges. A preventive strategy that has received significant interest is zinc supplementation. Existing literature including quantitative meta-analyses and systematic reviews tend to show that zinc supplementation is beneficial however evidence to the contrary is augmenting. We therefore conducted an updated and comprehensive meta-a...

This article explored the protective effects of zinc supplementation on diabetic liver injury and studied the underlying mechanisms that zinc supplementation reduced ER stress and autophagy in diabetic liver. Type 2 diabetes mellitus-like Wistar rat models were intragastrically administrated with ZnSO4 15 mg/kg daily for 53 days. Liver changes were examined by biochemical assay of serum, histop...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Zinc is essential for multiple cellular functions including immunity. Many investigators have used zinc supplementation in an attempt to affect the outcome of various diseases. These efforts were aimed at either supporting immunity by zinc administration or correcting the zinc dependent immune functions in zinc deficient individuals. RECENT FINDINGS In this review, recent fi...

BACKGROUND It has been reported that some alopecia areata patients have zinc deficiency. There have also been several reports published concerning oral zinc sulfate therapy, with encouraging results, in some alopecia areata patients. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of oral zinc supplementation for twelve weeks in alopecia areata patients who had a l...

Alcoholic liver disease is associated with zinc decrease in the liver. Therefore, we examined whether dietary zinc supplementation could provide protection from alcoholic liver injury. Metallothionein-knockout and wild-type 129/Sv mice were pair-fed an ethanol-containing liquid diet for 12 weeks, and the effects of zinc supplementation on ethanol-induced liver injury were analyzed. Zinc supplem...

The trace element zinc plays an important role in human life. Zinc deficiency impairs growth, reproduction, metabolism and immunity in both human and animals. Thus, zinc supplementation is recommended in daily life. However, the effect of long-term chronic zinc supplementation on adipose homeostasis has not been well elucidated. In the current study, mice were supplemented with zinc sulfate in ...

BACKGROUND Zinc deficiency due to poor nutrition or genetic mutations in zinc transporters is a global health problem and approaches to providing effective dietary zinc supplementation while avoiding potential toxic side effects are needed. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Conditional knockout of the intestinal zinc transporter Zip4 (Slc39a4) in mice creates a model of the lethal human genetic dise...