Decreased Serum Zinc Concentration Research Articles

The prevalence and intensity of external parasites in domestic pigeons (Columba livia domestica) in Egypt with special reference to the role of deltamethrin as insecticidal agent

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and intensity of external parasites in domestic pigeons in Giza, Egypt, from January 2020 to December 2020. A total of 300 domestic pigeons (25 pigeons per month) were examined. The birds were divided into groups based on their age. The oxidative stress parameters; serum zinc concentration, serum malondialdehyde (MDA), and serum Nitric oxide were evaluated in single and mixed external parasitic infestations. The prevalence of external parasites in examined pigeons was 80.3%. The detected parasites werePseudolynchia canariensis (P. canariensis),Hippobosca equina (H. equina),Columbicola columbae (C. columbae),Menopon gallinae (M. gallinae), Knemidocoptes species (spp.) andDermanyssus gallinae (D. gallinae);their incidences were 41.6, 26, 7, 5,0.33 and 0.33%, respectively. The highest infestation was recorded in both spring and summer. . The incidence of disease was higher in squabs and young birds than in adults. The mixed external parasitic infestation was recorded in this study. The infected birds showed decreased serum zinc concentration and elevated MDA and serum Nitric oxide levels. In conclusion, regular monthly treatment with deltamethrin is recommended as an effective drug in the treatment of the infested birds and succeeded in reducing the incidence of externalparasites in the treated birds; in addition, pigeon management measures must be implemented to reduce the risk of external parasites.

Zinc dyshomeostasis in azoxymethane-induced colonic precancerous and cancerous lesions in Fischer rats.

Zinc is an essential micronutrient involved in various biological processes. It is also argued that tumors need zinc for maintenance and proliferation and tumor cell apoptosis. Zinc homeostasis is regulated by the gastrointestinal tract and involves interplay of host, dietary, environmental and social factors such as alcohol consumption. The DNA alkylation agent azoxymethane (AOM), which is primarily activated in the liver, induces a high incidence of initiation and promotion steps of precancerous lesions in the colon of rats. The altered expression of hepatic zinc transporters by AOM may lead to zinc dyshomeostasis in liver. Decreased serum zinc concentration, despite increased liver zinc also indicates altered liver zinc mobilization and failure to regulate zinc homeostasis. During the transformation from normal colonic mucosa to colonic epithelial hyperplasia and aberrant crypt formation, a reduction in zinc concentration is observed. It will be interesting to study further if the same trend continues throughout tumor progression towards adenocarcinomas. Lowered local zinc concentrations in the colon epithelium may not just reflect a bystander effect, but may induce cell proliferation and compromise DNA integrity due to impairment of zinc-containing proteins. In congruence with the tissue zinc concentrations, metallothionein levels were found to be less induced in AOM -administered colon compared to normal healthy colon. Lowered tissue zinc levels in small and large intestine were also associated with increased expression of mRNA and protein ZnT1. In this regard, the mode of zinc responsiveness to ZnT1 mimics that of metallothionein, albeit at a lower level for ZnT1.

Decreased serum zinc concentration in dogs with lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis, and its associations with disease severity and prognosis.

Human patients with inflammatory bowel disease may have poor prognosis with hypozincemia. However, there are limited data on zinc concentrations in the blood of dogs with lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis (LPE). The purpose of this study was to investigate the serum zinc concentration in dogs with LPE and its influence on disease severity and prognosis. Thirty-five dogs with LPE were recruited. Serum zinc concentration was measured using atomic absorption spectrometry. Hypozincemia was observed in 18/35 (51%) dogs with LPE. Serum zinc concentration was inversely correlated with histological and clinical severities. Overall survivals were significantly shorter in dogs with hypozincemia than in those without it. These findings suggest that serum zinc concentration is a useful biomarker for LPE severity and prognosis in dogs.

Decreased serum zinc concentration during depressive episode in patients with bipolar disorder

ObjectivesZinc may be involved in the pathophysiology and treatment of depressive disorder. However, data on this issue in bipolar disorder (BD) are limited. The aim of the study was to assess zinc concentrations in the blood serum of patients at various phases and stages of bipolar disorder. MethodsThe study included 129 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder type I (n=69) or type II (n=60). Fifty-eight were in a depressive episode, 23 in a manic episode and 48 in remission. Fifty healthy volunteers made a control group. Zinc concentration was measured using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. ResultsSerum zinc level in patients diagnosed with BD type I in the depressive phase was significantly reduced as compared with mania, remission and healthy subjects. In the BD type II, serum zinc level in hypomania, depression or remission phase was not significantly different from the control group. In the whole group, lower level of zinc in depression compared to remission and control subjects was found during late stage of the illness but not in the early stage. Zinc concentration was not dependent on the severity of manic or depressive symptoms and subtype of depression but correlated positively with the number of manic/hypomanic relapses in the past year. LimitationsLack of prospective model, heterogeneity of pharmacological treatment, small number of subgroups presenting specified clinical features. ConclusionsDecreased serum zinc concentration occurs in depression in BD type I and probably in depression in the late stage of BD.

Changes in serum copper and zinc levels in peripartum healthy and subclinically hypocalcemic dairy cows.

The objective of this study was to determine the levels of serum copper and zinc in subclinically hypocalcemic peripartum dairy cows in comparison to healthy animals. Blood samples were taken from 219 multiparous Holstein cows near parturition (from 4 weeks prepartum to 4 weeks postpartum) and 51 cows with subclinical hypocalcemia. The results showed that the serum copper concentration increased gradually at 1 week prepartum and remained high for the first 4 weeks postpartum in the healthy periparturient dairy cows. The serum zinc concentration reached a nadir at 1 week postpartum and subsequently increased gradually to baseline. The serum zinc concentration was significantly decreased (P<0.01) in dairy cows with subclinical hypocalcemia compared with healthy cows. There was no significant difference in the serum copper concentration between cows with subclinical hypocalcemia and healthy cows. These data demonstrate that the concentrations of copper and zinc in serum change dramatically during the peripartum period in dairy cows, which is a tremendous challenge for the body and for the maintenance of dairy cow health. The present study further suggests that a decreased serum zinc concentration could be a cause of decreased productive performance and increased susceptibility to other diseases due to immunosuppression in dairy cows with subclinical hypocalcemia. Additionally, this decreased zinc concentration may be involved in the pathogenesis of subclinical hypocalcemia.

Low dietary or supplemental zinc is associated with depression symptoms among women, but not men, in a population-based epidemiological survey

Prior studies indicate that the biochemical alterations of depressive episodes result in decreased serum zinc concentrations. Given these findings, it is plausible that consistently low dietary zinc intakes contribute to depressive symptoms, yet epidemiological data are lacking. The authors tested the hypothesis that low zinc intake is associated with depressive symptoms using cross-sectional data from the population-based Boston Area Community Health survey (2002-2005). Dietary and supplement use data were collected by validated food frequency questionnaire. Current depressive symptoms were assessed by the abridged validated Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale and analyzed using multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for sociodemographic, health and lifestyle characteristics. Results showed an interaction (P=0.03) with gender, whereby zinc was associated with depressive symptoms in women (N=2163), but not men (N=1545). Women with low dietary or supplemental zinc intake were more likely to have depressive symptoms (e.g., dietary zinc quartile 1 vs. 4, OR=1.76, 95% CI: 1.26, 2.45; P-trend=0.004; supplemental zinc P-trend=0.03). Associations were stronger among women using antidepressant medications (e.g., total zinc OR=4.75, 95% CI: 1.98, 11.4; P-trend=0.0005). The cross-sectional, observational nature of the study leaves uncertain whether the observed associations represent actual causal relationships between zinc intake and depressive symptoms. These findings suggest: (1) gender-specific pathophysiological mechanisms of depression, (2) inadequate dietary zinc intake contributes to depressive symptoms in women, and (3) supplemental zinc is a beneficial adjunct to antidepressant therapy in women. Additional research on both men and women is needed to verify these novel findings. If confirmed by other studies, the potential importance of adequate zinc intake is underscored by the recognized limitations of pharmacotherapy for depression.

Acute Dietary Zinc Depletion in Humans Produces Biomarker Changes

A specific and sensitive assessment tool for individuals with zinc deficiency is greatly needed. To identify candidate markers holding the potential to indicate zinc status, a dietary regimen inducing acute zinc depletion was applied to healthy male subjects for a period of 10 days. Decreased serum zinc concentrations confirmed the zinc-depleted status of each participant along with a reduction in buccal metallothionein (MT) transcript levels. By using qPCR, we observed significant reductions in abundance of MT, ZnT1, ZnT4 and ZnT5 mRNA levels of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in ZnT1 and Zip3 transcripts of purified reticulocytes by dietary zinc depletion. The reduction of ZnT1 mRNA levels was measurable in whole blood RNA as well. Microarray analyses with globin RNA-depleted whole blood RNA were conducted for the identification of other genes affected by dietary zinc intake levels. Additionally, we confirmed the presence of ZnT1 and Zip10 in the plasma membrane of human erythrocytes, of which differential expression by zinc deficiency has been shown in mouse models. Cytokine release from heparinized whole blood stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in vitro was measured by ELISA. Depression in both LPS- and PHA-induced TNF-α production was observed after subjects were fed the zinc depleted diet. Grant Funding Source: NIH Grant DK 31127 (RJC) and CALS Alumni Fellowship (MSR)

Impact of the mother's zinc deficiency on the woman's and newborn's health status

The results of studying the prevalence of zinc deficiency in pregnant women and children at birth are presented. About 77% of the mothers and, in average, every third–fifth child depending on gestational age at birth have decreased serum zinc concentration (below 13 μmol/L). Malnutrition regarding macro- and micronutrients increases the risk of zinc deficiency in examined women (AP=28%; RR=1.4; CI=0.9–3.5). Zinc deficiency increases the risk of pregnancy complications, exacerbations of chronic diseases with gestation as background, labor activities disorders, with hypogalactia and decreasing zinc concentration in the breast milk as concomitant conditions. A relationship between the mothers’ serum zinc concentration and trace element concentration in umbilical blood, body height and body mass, adaptive possibilities and child morbidity at birth has been established. Children in their first year of life with a zinc concentration in umbilical blood below 13 μmol/L are characterized by reduced rate of linear growth, delay of psycho-motor development and increased morbidity.

The impaired immune response to diphtheria vaccination in elderly chronic hemodialysis patients is related to zinc deficiency.

Zinc deficiency causes abnormalities of the immune response. In chronic hemodialysis therapy abnormalities in zinc metabolism as well as an impaired immune response to vaccination have been reported. Therefore we performed a vaccination study against diphtheria and hypothesized that the response to diphtheria vaccination is related to serum zinc deficiency in hemodialysis patients. Serum zinc concentrations were assayed in 16 chronic hemodialysis patients (10 male, 6 female; mean age 65 years) without a documented vaccination history against diphtheria. Nine of these patients were triple immunized against diphtheria while seven received a single vaccination. The response to diphtheria vaccination was measured by ELISA detecting specific antibodies to diphtheria-toxoid. Seroconversion 6 and 12 months after vaccination was defined as the doubling of antibody titers in patients > or = 0.1 IU/ml prior to vaccination or as titers > 0.1 IU/ml in all other patients. Only 6/16 hemodialysis patients responded to immunization against diphtheria by specific antibody production (> 0.1 IU/ml). Twelve months after the single injection 3/7 patients seroconverted while six months after the triple vaccination 3/9 patients responded to immunization. This was not age-dependent, whereas in non-responders we detected significantly decreased serum zinc levels. In contrast, responders showed similar serum zinc levels as age-matched controls. Furthermore, we measured a decreased alpha 2-macroglobulin concentration only in the responders amongst the hemodialysis patients. Protection against diphtheria and the immune response to diphtheria vaccination in hemodialysis patients is poor. The failure to respond to active diphtheria vaccination is related to a significantly decreased serum zinc concentration in hemodialysis patients.

老化と必須微量元素の欠乏に関する研究 Ｉ 義歯装着者の血清亜鉛濃度と味覚いき値の変動について

The zinc appears to play a significant roles in enzymatic activities as well as taste qualities, and it has been given considerable attention to the decreased serum zinc concentration patients who has been suffering from changes in taste acuity. There is, however, no report regarding the influence of the zinc concentration related to the denture wearers taste qualities. This study was undertaken to elucidate the correlation between serum zinc concentration and taste acuity in denture wearers. Total of 66 subjects were selected on 35 male and 31 female, aged 22 to 81 years. Within 66 subjects, 16 male and 18 female were denture wearers on aged 35 to 81 years. Serum zinc levels were made using atomic-absorption flame spectrophotometry, and taste thresholds were tested using electrogustometer on the anterior and posterior part of the tongue and on the soft palate. The results were as follows: 1. Significant decrease in serum zinc concentration with advancing age were obtained in both male and female subjects (Male: Y = 123.1-0.4 X, R = -0.67, p less than 0.01, Female: Y = 103.5-0.2 X, R = -0.37, p less than 0.05, where Y is serum zinc concentration in micrograms/dl and X is age in years). 2. Significant increase in taste-thresholds in every area with advancing age were obtained in both male and female subjects. 3. Denture wearers showed low value of serum zinc concentration (Male: 90.7 micrograms/dl, Female: 91.7 micrograms/dl) compared to young subjects (Male: 110.8 micrograms/dl, Female: 102.6 micrograms/dl). 4. Denture wearers showed high value of taste thresholds (Anterior part of the tongue: 18.8 dB, Posterior part of the tongue: 15.8 dB, Soft palate: 18.9 dB) compared to young subjects (Anterior part of the tongue: 6.6 dB, Posterior part of the tongue: 7.6 dB, Soft palate: 8.8 dB).

Serum zinc response in thermal injury.

Zinc is an essential trace element required for RNA and DNA synthesis and the function of over 200 zinc metalloenzymes. After surgery or trauma, the serum zinc concentration usually decreases. The magnitude and duration of this hypozincemia after thermal injury are unclear, as are mechanisms for this hypozincemia. In this study we evaluated, over the duration of their hospital course, serum zinc concentrations in 23 thermal injury patients. The initial mean serum zinc concentration was significantly depressed (42 +/- micrograms/dl; normal 66-110 micrograms/dl). By the second week of hospitalization, serum zinc concentrations gradually increased into the normal range in the majority of patients. Mechanisms for this hypozincemia were evaluated. Decreases in the serum zinc concentration did not correlate with increased urinary zinc excretion; thus increased urinary zinc excretion was an unlikely mechanism for the observed hypozincemia. Values for albumin, the major zinc binding protein in serum, generally were inversely correlated with the serum zinc concentration. Thus, hypoalbuminemia could not explain the decreased serum zinc concentration. Certain cytokines such as interleukin-1 are known to cause a decrease in the serum zinc concentration as part of the acute phase response. Therefore, we measured serum C reactive protein concentrations as an indicator of the acute phase response. Thermally injured patients initially had markedly elevated C-reactive protein levels which gradually decreased during hospitalization. We suggest that the initial hypozincemia observed in thermally injured patients may be a reflection of interleukin-1 mediated acute phase response. Whether one should vigorously attempt to correct this initial marked hypozincemia requires further investigation.

Serum zinc levels in lung cancer patients.

Serum zinc concentrations were determined in 26 extensive squamous cell lung cancer patients and were tested for correlations with survival, response to therapy, nutritional status indices, and various host defense characteristics. Subnormal serum zinc levels were found in 24 of the 26 patients. The mean serum zinc concentration was 43.2/micrograms 100 ml +/- 3.6 S.E.M. (normal = 80-100 micrograms/100 ml). A significant (P = 0.007) survival advantage was demonstrated for those patients with pretreatment zinc concentrations greater than 45 micrograms%, but serum zinc levels did not correlate with response to chemotherapy (also significantly affecting survival). Decreased serum zinc concentrations were significantly associated with decreased neutrophil migration measured by the skin window technique and with decreased triceps skin fold thickness but not with any of the other host defense and nutritional induces measured. These data suggest that further studies are indicated to examine the role of serum zinc concentration as a possible sensitive prognostic characteristic and to determine if zinc administration may be of therapeutic benefit in cancer patients.