Evaluation of the Relationships between Taste Acuity and Zinc Tissue Levels

摘要

Over the last 3 years the zinc status of 35 patients with non-diabetic end stage renal disease on hemodialysis and 15 patients with decreasing renal function, not yet on dialysis, have been studied. Marked depletion of serum, red cell and hair zn was found in the majority of the dialysis patients. In addition to normalizing the laboratory parameters zinc supplementation significantly improved the taste acuity and the protein and caloric intakes. Also a statistically significant improvement in urea generation rate was noted. 3 patients continued on long term zn supplementation, causing symptoms of zinc toxicity and extra and intracellular zinc values above normal. A significant correlation between time period without zinc supplementation and declining serum and RBC zinc was found. The patients studied in progressive renal failure had inadequate caloric, protein and zinc intake. There was no correlation between proteinuria and zinc secretion or proteinuria and serum and RBC zinc values. The sample size was too small to find any correlation between etiology of renal failure and zinc deficiency and between degree of renal failure and zinc deficiency.