Acrodermatitis enteropathica is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by alopecia, acral and periorificial dermatitis and gastro-intestinal disturbances such as diarrhea. This syndrome is caused by malabsorption of zinc. The mean serum zinc level is usually low in untreated patients and the oral administration of zinc sulfate can clear the skin lesions and other symptoms. We report a three-month-old female baby with acrodermatitis enteropathica showing a normal serum zinc level in whom diapnosis was confirmed by typical skin lesions, clinical symptoms and response to oral zinc therapy.
Acrodermatitis* ; Administration, Oral ; Alopecia ; Dermatitis ; Diarrhea ; Female ; Humans ; Skin ; Zinc Sulfate ; Zinc*

Acrodermatitis enteropathica (AE) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of early infancy, and is characterized by periorificial dermatitis, alopecia, and intractable diarrhea. Serum zinc levels are usually low in untreated patients and the oral administration of zinc sulfate can clear skin lesions and other symptoms. Although premature and cow`s milk-fed infants are at particular risk of developing AE, there have been a few reports about AE in term and breast-fed infants. We report a case of transient AE in a 4-month-old breast-fed infant. This patient suffered from diarrhea and dermatitis for more than a month. Her skin lesions were erythematous, scaly, crusted, psoriasiform, eczematous, with an eruption at the chin, and a periorificial disposition with involvement of the flexural areas of lower extremities. Her serum zinc level was almost normal at 129 microgram/dL (reference range: 60-121 microgram/dL), but the zinc level in her hair was low: 8 mg percent (reference range: 10-21 mg percent). Skin biopsy findings were consistent with AE. Seven days after zinc supplementation, the skin lesions and diarrhea improved. The authors recommend that a clinical trial of zinc supplementation be considered in cases where there are suspicious of AE, even when the serum zinc level is normal.
Acrodermatitis* ; Administration, Oral ; Alopecia ; Biopsy ; Chin ; Dermatitis ; Diarrhea ; Hair* ; Humans ; Infant ; Lower Extremity ; Skin ; Zinc Sulfate ; Zinc*

Diiodohydroxyquin introduced by Dillaha et al in 1953, had been the mainstay for the treatment of acrodermatitis enteropathica (A.E.). However, following the report by Moynahan and Barnes in 1973 of successful treatment with the oral administration of zinc sulfate, the clinical response to this treatment has been confirmed by different investigators in many countries. In Korean literature, Rhim et al reported two cases of A,E. in siblings successfully treated with oral zinc sulfate in 1980. In our case of cow's milk-fed, 7 month-old male infant, typical claasical features of total alopecia, diarrhea and periorificial dermatitis developed at about 3 months. of age and the zinc level in serum was 101 ug/dl at the first visit. Treatment first with diiodohydroxyquin was initiated at a dose of 315 mg/day by mouth for the first week and 630 mg/day for the second week, but this therapeutic regimen brought about little or no effect. Because of no definite improvement even with increasing dose of 1260 mg/day for another week, treatment was. changed to oral zinc sulfate. The patient began to receive zinc sulfate 50mg at first day by mouth and the dosage was immediately increased to l00mg daily from the next day. Within 72 hrs there found dramatic improvement in the skin lesions and diharrhea stopped. Twenty days after the start of zinc therapy, nearly all the skin lesions disappeared and the patient was discharged in satisfactory condition with only mild residual erythema. (countinued..)
Acrodermatitis* ; Administration, Oral ; Alopecia ; Dermatitis ; Diarrhea ; Erythema ; Humans ; Infant ; Iodoquinol ; Male ; Mouth ; Research Personnel ; Siblings ; Skin ; Zinc ; Zinc Sulfate

A simple and rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of epsilon-acetamidocaproic acid (AACA), the primary metabolite of zinc acexamate (ZAC), in rat plasma by using normetanephrine as an internal standard. Sample preparation involved protein precipitation using methanol. Separation was achieved on a Gemini-NX C18 column (150 mm x 2.0 mm, i.d., 3 microm particle size) using a mixture of 0.1% formic acid-water : acetonitrile (80 : 20, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 200 microl/min. Quantification was performed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer employing electrospray ionization and operating in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and positive ion mode. The total chromatographic run time was 4.0 min, and the calibration curves of AACA were linear over the concentration range of 20~5000 ng/ml in rat plasma. The coefficient of variation and relative error at four QC levels were ranged from 1.0% to 5.8% and from -8.4% to 6.6%, respectively. The present method was successfully applied for estimating the pharmacokinetic parameters of AACA following intravenous or oral administration of ZAC to rats.
6-Aminocaproic Acid ; Acetonitriles ; Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Calibration ; Mass Spectrometry* ; Methanol ; Normetanephrine ; Pharmacokinetics ; Plasma* ; Rats* ; Zinc

Zinc oxide quantum dots (ZnO QDs) were synthesized by gel-sol method and employed as the transdermal aloesin (Alo) carriers. ZnO QDs were surface-functionalized with amino using aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). Alo was covalently bonded on the surface of ZnO QDs via N,N'-carbonyldiimidazole to obtain Alo NPs, which were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA). TEM images showed that ZnO QDs were analogously sphere and monodisperse with a reasonably narrow size distribution, of which was around 4 nm. The size of Alo NPs increased to around 8 nm due to the surface modification. The intense bands at around 3 400 cm and 1 200 cm in the FTIR spectrum of Alo NPs from the vibration of -OH indicated the linkage of Alo on the surface of ZnO QDs. The results of TGA analysis showed that the mass ratio of ZnO QDs and Alo were 39.27% and 35.14%, respectively. The penetration of Alo NPs was much higher than raw Alo according to the passive penetration experiments with Franz-type diffusion cells instrument using full-thickness cavy skin, which manifested the improvement of the penetration for Alo delivered by ZnO QDs. The pH-controlled drug release behavior was investigated. At pH 7.4, only a small amount of Alo (1.45% ± 0.21%) had been released after 2 h. In contrast, as incubation at pH 5.0 of which pH was similar to endosomal environment, Alo was released very fast (87.63% ± 0.46% in 2 h) from Alo NPs, confirming that Alo NPs could response to the pH and realize the intracellular drug release. The inhibitory effect of Alo NPs on tyrosinase was in a dose dependent manner. When the concentration of Alo NPs was 12.5 μg/mL, the inhibition rate was up to 40.32% ± 1.57%. All the results show that the Alo NPs hold a great potential in transdermal tyrosinase inhibition.
Administration, Cutaneous ; Animals ; Chromones ; administration & dosage ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Glucosides ; administration & dosage ; Guinea Pigs ; Monophenol Monooxygenase ; metabolism ; Nanoparticles ; Quantum Dots ; Zinc Oxide

OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic effects of oral zinc supplement in infants and young children with rotavirus enteritis, and its preventive effects against diarrhea recurrence within 3 months after treatment.

METHODSA total of 103 infants and young children with rotavirus enteritis were randomly divided into zinc supplement group (n=51) and conventional treatment group (n=52). Both groups were equally treated with a comprehensive therapy, besides which the zinc supplement group received zinc gluconate granules for 10 days. The treatment outcomes were examined at 72 hours after treatment, and the time required for the disappearance of positive symptoms and the recovery of injured extra-intestinal organs were determined. In addition, these patients were followed up for 3 months to determine the incidence of diarrhea recurrence after treatment.

RESULTSThe overall response rate in the zinc supplement group was significantly higher than that in the conventional treatment group (90% vs 75%; P<0.05). The durations of diarrhea, high fever, and vomiting in the zinc supplement group were significantly shorter than that in the conventional treatment group (P<0.05). In addition, the recurrence rate of diarrhea and the incidence of severe diarrhea within 3 months after treatment in the zinc supplement group were significantly lower than in the conventional treatment group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSOral zinc supplement as adjunctive therapy is effective in treating infants and young children with rotavirus enteritis, and reducing the incidence and severity of diarrhea recurrence in the subsequent 3 months.

Child, Preschool ; Dietary Supplements ; Enteritis ; drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Recurrence ; Rotavirus Infections ; drug therapy ; Zinc ; administration & dosage

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of zinc and selenium on the sperm quality of oligoasthenozoospermic men.

METHODSThirty-four cases of oligoasthenozoospermia were treated with Xinxibao (Zinc & Selenium Tablet) three times a day and five tablets at a time for ninety days in succession. The seminal routine analysis was performed by computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) at the end of each month.

RESULTSThe sperm quality was improved significantly sixty days and ninety days after treatment. Five cases (14.7%) showed remarkable effect, 25 (73.5%) improved, and 4 (11.8%) did not respond.

CONCLUSIONZinc and selenium can significantly improve the sperm quality of oligoasthenozoospermic men.

Administration, Oral ; Adult ; Humans ; Male ; Oligospermia ; drug therapy ; Selenium ; therapeutic use ; Semen ; chemistry ; Sperm Motility ; Zinc ; therapeutic use

Zinc (Zn) deficiency in animals became of interest until the 1950s. In this paper, progresses in researches on physiology of Zn deficiency in animals, phytate effect on bioavailability of Zn, and role of phytase in healing Zn deficiency of animals were reviewed. Several studies demonstrated that Zn is recycled via the pancreas; the problem of Zn deficiency was controlled by Zn homeostasis. The endogenous secretion of Zn is considered as an important factor influencing Zn deficiency, and the critical molar ratio is 10. Phytate (inositol hexaphosphate) constituted up to 90% of the organically bound phosphorus in seeds. Great improvement has been made in recent years on isolating and measuring phytate, and its structure is clear. Phytate is considered to reduce Zn bioavailability in animal. Phytase is the enzyme that hydrolyzes phytate and is present in yeast, rye bran, wheat bran, barley, triticale, and many bacteria and fungi. Zinc nutrition and bioavailability can be enhanced by addition of phytase to animal feeds. Therefore, using phytase as supplements, the most prevalent Zn deficiency in animals may be effectively corrected without the mining and smelting of several tons of zinc daily needed to correct this deficiency by fortification worldwide.
6-Phytase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Phytic Acid ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Skin Diseases ; metabolism ; pathology ; Zinc ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; deficiency ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine the effects of nutrition education with a dietary guidebook for children on dietary attitude, nutrition knowledge and nutrient intakes. METHODS: The subjects were 54 higher grade elementary students (27 educated vs. 27 non-educated). The educated group was provided individual and/or group lessons (40 min/lesson/week, 4 week) using a dietary guidebook of Children developed by The Korean Society of Community Nutrition (KSCN) & Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). The contents were Balanced Diet, Smart Food Choices, Cooking a Healthy Snack and Building a Healthy Body. We examined the differences in nutrition knowledge, dietary attitudes and dietary intake between the educated group and non-educated group. RESULTS: After education, the educated group improved dietary attitude, nutrition knowledge and qualitative nutrient intakes compared to the non-educated group. Specifically, among dietary attitudes, ‘taking a meal with salty and spicy food’ increased, while among nutrition knowledge, ‘functions of protein’, ‘functions of fat’, ‘foods with carbohydrates’, ‘foods with fat’, ‘foods with vitamins’, and ‘foods with minerals’ were increased. Nutrition adequacy ratio (NAR) scores for vitamin C, iron, and zinc were increased. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition education using a dietary guidebook for children developed by the KSCN & KFDA had positive effects on nutrition knowledge and qualitative nutrient intakes. These findings suggest that nutrition education focused on personalized daily energy and nutrient requirements may improve dietary attitude and quantitative nutrient intakes of children.
Ascorbic Acid ; Child ; Cooking ; Diet ; Education ; Humans ; Iron ; Jeollabuk-do ; Meals ; Snacks ; United States Food and Drug Administration ; Zinc

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine the effects of nutrition education with a dietary guidebook for children on dietary attitude, nutrition knowledge and nutrient intakes. METHODS: The subjects were 54 higher grade elementary students (27 educated vs. 27 non-educated). The educated group was provided individual and/or group lessons (40 min/lesson/week, 4 week) using a dietary guidebook of Children developed by The Korean Society of Community Nutrition (KSCN) & Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). The contents were Balanced Diet, Smart Food Choices, Cooking a Healthy Snack and Building a Healthy Body. We examined the differences in nutrition knowledge, dietary attitudes and dietary intake between the educated group and non-educated group. RESULTS: After education, the educated group improved dietary attitude, nutrition knowledge and qualitative nutrient intakes compared to the non-educated group. Specifically, among dietary attitudes, ‘taking a meal with salty and spicy food’ increased, while among nutrition knowledge, ‘functions of protein’, ‘functions of fat’, ‘foods with carbohydrates’, ‘foods with fat’, ‘foods with vitamins’, and ‘foods with minerals’ were increased. Nutrition adequacy ratio (NAR) scores for vitamin C, iron, and zinc were increased. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition education using a dietary guidebook for children developed by the KSCN & KFDA had positive effects on nutrition knowledge and qualitative nutrient intakes. These findings suggest that nutrition education focused on personalized daily energy and nutrient requirements may improve dietary attitude and quantitative nutrient intakes of children.
Ascorbic Acid ; Child ; Cooking ; Diet ; Education ; Humans ; Iron ; Jeollabuk-do ; Meals ; Snacks ; United States Food and Drug Administration ; Zinc