Zinc supplements reduce the incidence of infection in elderly patients, according to the results of a small, randomized, double-blind trial reported in the March issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"Zinc deficiency, cell-mediated immune dysfunction, susceptibility to infections, and increased oxidative stress have been observed in elderly subjects (ie, those > 55 y old)," write Ananda S. Prasad, from the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, and colleagues. "Zinc is an effective anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent."
At a senior center, a group of 49 healthy adults aged 55 to 87 years and inclusive of all ethnicities were randomized to zinc supplementation (zinc gluconate, 45 mg of elemental zinc per day) or placebo orally for 12 months. Outcome measures included incidence of infections during the study; generation of inflammatory cytokines, T helper 1 and T helper 2 cytokines, and oxidative stress markers; and plasma concentrations of zinc at baseline and after supplementation.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/553524?src=mp
No comments:
Post a Comment