title: Zinc treatment affects superoxide dismutase activity in growth retardation.
abstract: Children with growth dysfunction present complex diagnostic challenges. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of oral zinc treatment on red cell copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) activity and copper and zinc concentrations in children with "growth retardation." Twenty-nine patients, average age of 11 yr, whose percentile was under 3% of the National Center of Health Statistics parameters were selected. For the control group, 10 children whose average age was 10 yr were included. Red cell Cu/Zn-SOD activity was determined by spectrophotometer. Red cell copper and zinc concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Red cell Cu/Zn-SOD activity was higher than the control group before zinc treatment (p<0.001). There was a decrease in the Cu/Zn-SOD activity after zinc treatment, but the mean value of the Cu/Zn-SOD activity of patients was still higher than the control values (p<0.001). After zinc treatment, there was an increase in red cell zinc concentration (p<0.01) and a decrease in copper concentration (p<0.001), which were statistically significant. The results of this study suggested that Cu/Zn-SOD activity was increased significantly during growth retardation and zinc treatment appeared to ameliorate the enzyme activity. There were also insignificant alterations in red cell copper and zinc concentrations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Ankara University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Pelin Aribal
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kocatürk
authors.forename: Zeynep
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Siklar
authors.forename: Güzin Ozelçi
authors.initials: GO
authors.lastname: Kavas
authors.forename: Yildiz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dallar
authors.forename: Gülten
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tanyer
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D015032:Zinc