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mrsD · 10-28-2006, 12:22 PM

Quote:

J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1996 Feb;37(2):225-7. Related Articles, Links

Relationships between serum free fatty acids and zinc, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a research note.

Bekaroglu M, Aslan Y, Gedik Y, Deger O, Mocan H, Erduran E, Karahan C.

Department of Psychiatry, Technical University, Faculty of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationships between serum free fatty acids (FFA) and zinc, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Forty eight children with ADHD (33 boys, 15 girls) were included in the patient group and 45 healthy volunteer children (30 boys, 15 girls) constituted the control group. The mean serum FFA level in the patient group was 0.176 +/- 0.102 mEq/L and in control group, 0.562 +/- 0.225 mEq/L (p < .001). The mean serum zinc level of patient group was 60.6 +/- 9.9 micrograms/dl and that of the control group, 105.8 +/- 13.2 micrograms/dl (p < .001). A statistically significant correlation was found between zinc and FFA levels in the ADHD group. These findings indicate that zinc deficiency may play a role in aetiopathogenesis of ADHD. Although we observed decreased FFA levels in ADHD cases, it is necessary to determine whether this condition is a principal cause of ADHD or is secondary to zinc deficiency.
PMID: 8682903 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Jan;28(1):181-90. Related Articles, Links

Double-blind, placebo-controlled study of zinc sulfate in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Bilici M, Yildirim F, Kandil S, Bekaroglu M, Yildirmis S, Deger O, Ulgen M, Yildiran A, Aksu H.

Department of Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, Karadeniz Technical University, School of Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey

BACKGROUND: The most commonly used medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are the psychostimulants. There is, however, considerable awareness in alternative, nonstimulant therapies, because some patients respond poorly to stimulants or are unable to tolerate them. Some studies suggest that deficiency of zinc play a substantial role in the aetiopathogenesis of ADHD. Therefore, to assess the efficacy of zinc sulfate we conducted treatment trial. METHODS: Patients with a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of ADHD (N=400; 72 girls, 328 boys, mean age=9.61+/-1.7) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with zinc sulfate (n=202) (150 mg/day) or placebo (n=198). Efficacy was assessed with the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Scale (ADHDS), Conners Teacher Questionnaire, and DuPaul Parent Ratings of ADHD. Primary efficacy variables were differences from baseline to endpoint (last observation carried forward) in mean ADHDS and Conners Teacher Questionnaire scores between the zinc sulfate and the placebo groups. Safety evaluations included monitoring of adverse events, vital signs and clinical laboratory values. RESULTS: Zinc sulfate was statistically superior to placebo in reducing both hyperactive, impulsive and impaired socialization symptoms, but not in reducing attention deficiency symptoms, as assessed by ADHDS. However, full therapeutic response rates of the zinc and placebo groups remained 28.7% and 20%, respectively. It was determined that the hyperactivity, impulsivity and socialization scores displayed significant decrease in patients of older age and high BMI score with low zinc and free fatty acids (FFA) levels. Zinc sulfate was well tolerated and associated with a low rate of side effect. CONCLUSIONS: Zinc monotherapy was significantly superior to placebo in reducing symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and impaired socialization in patients with ADHD. Although by themselves, these findings may not be sufficient, it may well be considered that zinc treatment appears to be an efficacious treatment for ADHD patients having older age and high BMI score with low zinc and FFA levels.
PMID: 14687872 [PubMed - in process]
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Mol Cells. 2000 Aug 31;10(4):452-9. Related Articles, Links

Human pyridoxal kinase: overexpression and properties of the recombinant enzyme.

Lee HS, Moon BJ, Choi SY, Kwon OS.

Department of Biochemistry, Kyungpook National University, Taegu, Korea.

Pyridoxal kinase catalyses the phosphorylation of the vitamin B6. A human brain pyridoxal kinase cDNA was isolated, and the recombinant enzyme was overexpressed in E. coli as a fusion protein with maltose binding protein (MBP). Pure pyridoxal kinase exhibits a molecular mass of about 40 kDa when examined by SDS-PAGE and FPLC gel filtration. The recombinant enzyme is a monomer endowed with catalytic activity, indicating that the native quaternary structure of pyridoxal kinase is not a prerequisite for catalytic function. Zn2+ is the most effective divalent cation in the phosphorylation of pyridoxal, and the human enzyme has maximum catalytic activity in the narrow pH range of 5.5-6.0. The Km values for two substrates pyridoxal and ATP are 97 microM and 12 microM, respectively. In addition, the unfolding processes of the recombinant enzyme were monitored by circular dichroism. The values of the free energy change of unfolding (AGo = 1.2 kcal x mol(-1) x K(-1)) and the midpoint transition (1 M) suggested that the enzyme is more stable than ovine pyridoxal kinase against denaturation by guanidine hydrochloride. Intrinsic fluorescence spectra of the human enzyme from red-edge excitation and fluorescence quenching experiments showed that the tryptophanyl residues are not completely exposed and more accessible to neutral acrylamide than to the negatively charged iodide. The first complete set of catalytic and structural properties of human pyridoxal kinase provide valuable information for further biochemical studies on this enzyme.

PMID: 10987144 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

We need therefore zinc to convert pyridoxine into the active form pyridoxal.

Here is another :

Quote:

Zinc Supplements Could Help Treat ADHD

As attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects around 1 in every 25 school-aged children, managing this condition is of huge social importance. An article published in BMC Psychiatry this week shows that zinc supplements could increase the effectiveness of stimulants used to treat children with the disease.

The effects of ADHD on individual children differ, but symptoms include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Stimulants are the most common treatment prescribed, but recent findings that vitamin and mineral deficiencies correlate with ADHD suggest that dietary supplements could also play a role in disease management.

Researchers from Iran carried out a controlled trial to assess the benefits of prescribing supplementary zinc alongside the more conventional methylphenidate treatment. They found that children taking additional zinc sulphate on a daily basis improved faster than those taking a placebo.

"The efficacy of zinc sulphate to increase the rate of improvement in children, seems to support the role of zinc deficiency in the pathogenesis of ADHD," say the authors.

The study comprised 44 children who were diagnosed as suffering from ADHD at Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran. Prior to the trial none of these patients had taken any medication for their condition.

For the six weeks of the trial, half the children took zinc sulphate (55mg/day) in addition to the conventional treatment; the other half took a placebo. A child psychiatrist assessed the children's condition fortnightly.

The behaviour of both groups of children improved over the course of the trial, but the children taking the zinc supplements showed a more marked improvement in their condition after six weeks, compared with those taking the placebo.

Although the children taking zinc sulphate were three times more likely to report that they were suffering from nausea, the frequency of other side effects did not differ between the two study groups. However, almost all of the children taking supplementary zinc complained about the metallic taste of the tablets.

Zinc supplements may exert their positive effects by helping to regulate the function of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine signalling, which has been implicated in causing symptoms of ADHD, is believed to play an important role in the feelings of pleasure and reward.

The authors acknowledge that their study is only small. They suggest that further research in this area is needed to confirm the positive effects of zinc supplements on children with ADHD.

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This press release is based on the following article:

Zinc sulphate as an adjunct to methylphenidate for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children: A double blind and randomized trial [ISRCTN64132371]Shahin Akhondzadeh, Mohammad-Reza Mohammadi, Mojgan KhademiBMC Psychiatry 2004, 4:8

from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0409094643.htm
Use of zinc monomethionine (a newer version) can reduce or eliminate nausea side effects.

This article is interesting too:
http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/104/107231.htm

Zinc is a huge subject. Here is a link to over 100 pages about it at LEF.org
http://search.lef.org/search/default...s=1&QUERY=zinc

Interested readers can find enormous amounts of data on PubMed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
Just type in zinc and any qualifier you are interested in, into the keyword box.