Showing papers by "Ananda S. Prasad published in 2020"
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Zinc deficiency may account for the persistence of gonadal dysfunction in a majority of uremic men despite adequate dialysis as discussed by the authors, despite having stable patients having hemodialysis three times a week.
Abstract: Zinc deficiency may account for the persistence of gonadal dysfunction in a majority of uremic men despite adequate dialysis. Twenty stable patients having hemodialysis three times a week ...
130 citations
TL;DR: Zinc deficiency resulted in an imbalance of Th1 to Th2 function resulting in decreased cell-mediated immunity, and development of sensitive immunological biomarkers may be more sensitive than an assay of zinc in plasma and peripheral blood cells for diagnosis of marginal zinc deficiency in human.
Abstract: Zinc is an essential element for humans, and its deficiency was documented in 1963. Nutritional zinc deficiency is now known to affect over two billion subjects in the developing world. Conditioned deficiency of zinc in many diseases has also been observed. In zinc-deficient dwarfs from the Middle East, we reported growth retardation, delayed sexual development, susceptibility to infections, poor appetite, and mental lethargy. We never found a zinc-deficient dwarf who survived beyond the age of 25 y. In an experimental model of human mild zinc deficiency, we reported decreased thymulin (a thymopoietic hormone) activity in Th1 cells, decreased mRNAs of IL-2 and IFN-gamma genes, and decreased activity of natural killer cells (NK) and T cytotoxic T cells. The effect of zinc deficiency on thymulin activity and IL-2 mRNA was seen within eight to twelve weeks of the institution of zinc-deficient diet in human volunteers, whereas lymphocyte zinc decreased in 20 weeks and plasma zinc decreased in 24 weeks after instituting zinc-deficient diet. We hypothesized that decreased thymulin activity, which is known to proliferate Th1 cells, decreased the proliferation differentiation of Th1 cells. This resulted in decreased generation of IL-2 and IFN-gamma. We observed no effect in Th2 cell function; thus, zinc deficiency resulted in an imbalance of Th1 to Th2 function resulting in decreased cell-mediated immunity. Zinc therapy may be very useful in many chronic diseases. Zinc supplementation improves cell-mediated immunity, decreases oxidative stress, and decreases generation of chronic inflammatory cytokines in humans. Development of sensitive immunological biomarkers may be more sensitive than an assay of zinc in plasma and peripheral blood cells for diagnosis of marginal zinc deficiency in human.
43 citations
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14 Oct 2020
TL;DR: A brief historical review of the discovery of zinc as an essential element for humans, the clinical manifestations of zinc deficiency, its therapeutic impact on human health and diseases, biomarkers of human zinc deficiencies, and its biochemical role is presented.
Abstract: The essential role of zinc in human health was first suggested by our studies in growth-retarded Iranian villagers in 1961. Our later studies in 1963 established conclusively that zinc was essential for human and that zinc deficiency resulted in severe growth retardation, hypogonadism in males, immune dysfunctions, and cognitive function impairment. The suggestion that zinc was an essential element for humans remained very controversial, but in 1974, the USA National Academy of Sciences declared zinc as an essential element for humans and established the recommended dietary allowances. In 1978, the FDA and other regulatory agencies made it mandatory to include zinc in total parenteral nutrition fluids, which resulted in saving many lives. During the past five decades, tremendous progress has been made in the understanding of the biochemical role of zinc, and we now know that zinc therapy has impacted significantly on human health and diseases. In this review, I plan to present a brief historical review of the discovery of zinc as an essential element for humans, the clinical manifestations of zinc deficiency, its therapeutic impact on human health and diseases, biomarkers of human zinc deficiency, and its biochemical role.
01 Jan 2020
TL;DR: A controlled clinical trial of zinc supplementation in these disorders in order to document the preventive and therapeutic effects of zinc is recommended.
Abstract: Zinc as an essential element for humans was recognized in 1963 Nutritional zinc deficiency is now known to affect more than 2 billion human subjects globally Zinc is an intracellular signaling molecule and it plays an important role in cell-mediated immune functions and oxidative stress Zinc is also an antiinflammatory agent These unique properties of zinc may have significant therapeutic benefits in several diseases in humans In many diseases, concurrent zinc deficiency may complicate the clinical features, adversely affect immunological status, increase oxidative stress, and increase the generation of inflammatory cytokines It is currently believed that oxidative stress and chronic inflammation may have important causative roles in many chronic diseases, including atherosclerosis, several malignancies, neurological disorders, and autoimmune diseases It is therefore important that the status of zinc is assessed and zinc deficiency corrected in these chronic conditions A controlled clinical trial of zinc supplementation in these disorders in order to document the preventive and therapeutic effects of zinc is recommended