BACKGROUND Acrodermatitis enteropathica (AE) is a rare dermatitis secondary to zinc deficiency most commonly seen as an inherited disease in infants. In the last decade, increased number of reports have been published on the acquired form that presents in adulthood. Unlike its inherited counterpart, acquired AE (AAE) is often secondary to underlying pathologic or iatrogenic etiologies that inte...

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...

Even though brass, a zinc-copper alloy, had been known for centuries, metallic zinc was not isolated in Europe until 1509. The metal was then named zinken because of its superficial similarity to tin (German-zinn) (Wootton, 1910). Zinc (atomic number 30; atomic weight 65 37) has a completed d subshell with 2 s electrons and the divalent cation is the only naturally occurring oxidation state. Th...

The results of more than three decades of work indicate that zinc deficiency rapidly diminishes antibody- and cell-mediated responses in both humans and animals. The moderate deficiencies in zinc noted in sickle cell anemia, renal disease, chronic gastrointestinal disorders and acrodermatitis enteropathica; subjects with human immunodeficiency virus; children with diarrhea; and elderly persons ...

Zinc deficiency can be an inherited disorder, in which case it is known as acrodermatitis enteropathica (AE), or an acquired disorder caused by low dietary intake of zinc. Even though zinc deficiency diminishes cellular and humoral immunity, patients develop immunostimulating skin inflammation. Here, we have demonstrated that despite diminished allergic contact dermatitis in mice fed a zinc-def...

Several mutations affecting the transport of copper and zinc in humans and in mice have been discovered over the last 15 years, joining the long known disturbance of copper transport in Wilson's disease. Menkes' disease (classical and mild variant forms) and X linked Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (type IX, X linked cutis laxa) have features in common with one another and with the brindled (Mobr) and b...

OBJECTIVES To assess the significance of zinc in the etiology of various dermatological conditions and examine the role of zinc as a mode of treatment for a wide range of dermatoses. METHODS Review of existing literature through searches using the PubMed site with zinc and the dermatosis in question as search words. RESULTS Severe zinc deficiency states such as acrodermatitis enteropathica ...

To the Editor, I am writing this letter concerning the “Clinical Picture in Hematology” entitled “Isolated Zinc Deficiency Causing Severe Microcytosis and Sideroblastic Anemia” by Shweta et al. in a recent issue of this journal [1]. Although we have seen several cases of zinc and iron deficiency with geophagia, hepatosplenomegaly, growth retardation, and hypogonadism (Tayanç-Reimann-Prasad synd...