Randomized trial of the effect of zinc supplementation on the mental health of school-age children in Guatemala

DiGirolamo, Ann; Ramírez‐Zea, Manuel; Wang, Meng; Flores‐Ayala, Rafael; Martorell, Reynaldo; Neufeld, L.M.; Ramakrishnan, Usha; Sellen, Daniel; Black, Maureen M.; Stein, Aryeh D.

doi:10.3945/ajcn.2010.29686

Cited by 60 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Intervention trials have shown that zinc supplementation can improve neurological and psychological development in undernourished children (Bentley et al 1997; Bhutta et al 1999; Brown et al 2002; Gardner et al 2005; Penland et al 1997; Sazawal et al 2001). However, some studies have also reported null (DiGirolamo et al 2010), or even negative effects of zinc supplementation on children’s cognitive development (Hamadani et al 2001; Hamadani et al 2002). Some children may benefit from supplementation more than others making it difficult for these trials to reach statistical significance.…”

Section: Zinc Deficiency Erk1/2 and Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Zinc and the ERK Kinases in the Developing Brain

Nuttall

Oteiza

2011

Neurotox Res

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This article reviews evidence in support of the hypothesis that impaired activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2) contributes to the disruptions in neurodevelopment associated with zinc deficiency. These kinases are implicated in major events of brain development, including proliferation of progenitor cells, neuronal migration, differentiation, and apoptotic cell death. In humans, mutations in ERK1/2 genes have been associated with neuro-cardio-facial-cutaneous syndromes. ERK1/2 deficits in mice have revealed impaired neurogenesis, altered cellularity, and behavioral abnormalities. Zinc is an important modulator of ERK1/2 signaling. Conditions of both zinc deficiency and excess affect ERK1/2 phosphorylation in fetal and adult brains. Hypophosphorylation of ERK1/2, associated with decreased zinc availability in cell cultures, is accompanied by decreased proliferation and an arrest of the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase. Zinc and ERK1/2 have both been shown to modulate neural progenitor cell proliferation and cell death in the brain. Furthermore, behavioral deficits resulting from developmental zinc deficiency are similar to those observed in mice with decreased ERK1/2 signaling. For example, impaired performance on behavioral tests of learning and memory; such as the Morris water maze, fear conditioning, and the radial arm maze; has been reported in both animals exposed to developmental zinc deficiency and transgenic mice with decreased ERK signaling. Future study should clarify the mechanisms through which a dysregulation of ERK1/2 may contribute to altered brain development associated with dietary zinc deficiency and with conditions that limit zinc availability.

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Section: Zinc Deficiency Erk1/2 and Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Zinc and the ERK Kinases in the Developing Brain

Nuttall

Oteiza

2011

Neurotox Res

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“…However, recent RCTs have failed to demonstrate a benefit for either iron or zinc supplementation over placebo [53,60,61]. All but one recent RCTs on elimination diets did not generate recommendations for them being a generally applicable treatment for children who have ADHD [65,66 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Of note, a caloric spectrophotometer was used instead of an atomic absorption spectrophotometer due to the limited budget of the study. DiGirolamo et al [61] conducted a 6-month randomized, double-blind, controlled trial comparing zinc supplementation with a placebo (glucose) in 674 Guatemalan children in grades 1-4. The groups given zinc and placebo did not differ significantly in any behavioral measures at baseline or at follow-up: this included parent-reported scores for their children's behavioral problems.…”

Section: Zinc Supplementationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Complementary medicine for children and young people who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Skokauskas

McNicholas²,

Masaud³

et al. 2011

Current Opinion in Psychiatry

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Notwithstanding efforts made to increase the scientific rigor of previous studies, more recent studies have generally been unsuccessful in demonstrating adequate treatment effects of complementary medicine on children who have ADHD. Currently, there is no proof that complementary medicine provides a better alternative for children who have ADHD than treatments that are currently available within multimodal therapy.

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“…Furthermore, zinc treatment was reported significantly superior to placebo in reducing symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and impaired socialization in ADHD patients [58,59]. Another preliminary human study showed that many children with ADHD have lower zinc concentration in comparison to healthy children and zinc supplement as an adjunct to methylphenidate has favourable effects in the treatment of ADHD children, pointing to the possible association of zinc deficiency and ADHD pathophysiology [60].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal and Neonatal Endocrine Disruptors

2015

Environmental Hazards and Neurodevelopment

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Abstract:The interactions between genes and the environment are now regarded as the most probable explanation for autism. In this review, we summarize the results of a metallomics study in which scalp hair concentrations of 26 trace elements were examined for 1,967 autistic children (1,553 males and 414 females aged 0-15 years-old), and discuss recent advances in our understanding of epigenetic roles of infantile mineral imbalances in the pathogenesis of autism. In the 1,967 subjects, 584 (29.7%) and 347 (17.6%) were found deficient in zinc and magnesium, respectively, and the incidence rate of zinc deficiency was estimated at 43.5% in male and 52.5% in female infantile subjects aged 0-3 years-old. In contrast, 339 (17.2%), 168 (8.5%) and 94 (4.8%) individuals were found to suffer from high burdens of aluminum, cadmium and lead, respectively, and 2.8% or less from mercury and arsenic. High toxic metal burdens were more frequently observed in the infants aged 0-3 years-old, whose incidence rates were 20.6%, 12.1%, 7.5%, 3.2% and 2.3% for aluminum, cadmium, lead, arsenic and mercury, respectively. These findings suggest that infantile zinc-and magnesium-deficiency and/or toxic metal burdens may be critical and induce epigenetic alterations in the genes and genetic regulation mechanisms of neurodevelopment in the autistic children, and demonstrate that a time factor "infantile window" is also critical for neurodevelopment and probably for therapy. Thus, early metallomics analysis may lead to early screening/estimation and treatment/prevention for the autistic neurodevelopment disorders.

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Randomized trial of the effect of zinc supplementation on the mental health of school-age children in Guatemala

Cited by 60 publications

References 41 publications

Zinc and the ERK Kinases in the Developing Brain

Zinc and the ERK Kinases in the Developing Brain

Complementary medicine for children and young people who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Fetal and Neonatal Endocrine Disruptors

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