title: Effects of zamic as a means for zinc supplementation in growing children.
abstract: We investigated the effects of zinc supplementation in case of moderate growth retardation in which GH treatment could not be used. Zamic (ZA, an association containing arginine, L-methionine, and zinc; from Aguettant pharmaceuticals) was compared with arginine aspartate (AA) (5 g) in a crossover randomized trial (6 mo of each treatment at random order over 1 yr). We present preliminary results of 24 children who completed the study (3 girls, 21 boys, age 9-13 yr). Subjects had to be prepubertal, with no GH deficiency diagnosed. In 15 subjects growth velocity was lower than 5 mm/mo: In this case ZA improved growth velocity (rising from 3.105 +/- 0.229 to 5.4 +/- 0.69 mm/mo p < 0.01), whereas the effect of AA was not significant. The increase in growth velocity was higher with ZA (+2.44 +/- 0.657 mm/mo) than AA (+0.438 +/- 0.450 mm/mo) p < 0.05. These results suggest that ZA is more efficient than AA, consistent with the hypothesis that zinc needs are increased in those children in this period of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology (Faculty of Medicine), Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fons
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Brun
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fedou
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fussellier
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bardet
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orsetti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001120:Arginine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008715:Methionine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D015032:Zinc / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; C094930:arginine, L-methionine, zinc drug combination; D013006:Growth Hormone; D001120:Arginine; D008715:Methionine; D015032:Zinc