The importance of zinc for human health has been recognized since the early 1960s, but today there is little concern about zinc deficiency in developed countries. In this study, we measured the zinc concentration in hair from 28,424 Japanese subjects (18,812 females and 9,612 males) and found that 1,754 subjects (6.17%) had zinc concentrations lower than 2 standard deviations (86.3 ppm) below t...

The objective of this study was to investigate whether short-term zinc deficiency in the early neonatal period would exacerbate the effects of essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency on liver and brain long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) composition, as well as on behavioral development in artificially reared rat pups. Using a 2 3 2 factorial design, male Long-Evans rat pups were reare...

This article attempts to highlight the prevalence of zinc deficiency and its health and economic consequences in South Asian developing countries and to shed light on possible approaches to combating zinc deficiency. A computer-based search was performed on PubMed, Google, and ScienceDirect.com to retrieve relevant scientific literature published between 2000 and 2012. The search yielded 194 ar...

Background and aim: Deficiency of zinc -as a necessary trace element-causes exacerbation of acne and development of acne lesions. Also zinc has been used in acne treatment. In this study serum zinc level was evaluated in severe acne cases. Materials and methods: Severe acne cases as well as sex and age matched controls were selected from dermatology clinics of Imam Reza and Qaem Hospitals durin...

Zinc deficiency is one of the leading risk factors for developing disease and yet we do not have a clear understanding of the mechanisms behind the increased susceptibility to infection. This review will examine the interrelationships among the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal stress axis, p56(lck), and T-cell maturation in both zinc deficiency and responses during zinc repletion. We will highlig...

Zinc deficiency can be an autosomal recessive inherited or acquired disorder and is classically characterized by acral and periorificial dermatitis, alopecia, and diarrhea. We report a case of acquired zinc deficiency in a premature 6-week-old boy with typical skin manifestation of zinc deficiency and decreased plasma zinc level. After starting zinc replacement therapy, the skin lesions complet...

The objective of this paper is to provide a current overview of the significance of zinc in human nutrition. To achieve this, the following issues are addressed: (1) the biochemistry and biology of zinc in the context of their relevance to zinc in human nutrition and to our understanding of the complexity and practical importance of human zinc deficiency; (2) the history of our understanding of...

BACKGROUND Zinc is an essential trace element with a prominent role in human nutrition. Zinc deficiency has been linked to growth retardation, hypogonadism in males, and lack of sexual development in females. It ranges from 50% in sub-Saharan Africa to 5% in high income countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of zinc deficiency in healthy children in Shiraz, southern Iran...

INTRODUCTION Zinc deficiency is wide spread in developing countries. Its deficiency during pregnancy has been documented to be associated with growth retardation, congenital abnormalities, and low birth weight. Limited community based data is available on the serum zinc levels during pregnancy from Haryana State, India. Hence the present study was undertaken. METHODS A community based cross s...