title: Serum zinc level in depressed patients during zinc supplementation of imipramine treatment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recurrent major depression is associated with decreased blood zinc concentrations that may be increased by effective antidepressant therapy. Some clinical investigations point to alterations of the zinc level in blood as a potential marker of depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  A placebo-controlled, double blind study of zinc supplementation to imipramine therapy was conducted on sixty patients fulfilling the DSM-IV criteria for major depression (18-55 years old, 40 females, 20 males). Moreover, a group of 25 healthy volunteers was recruited (16 females, 9 males). Blood samples were drawn for the assay of serum zinc once from the control subjects and four times (before, and then 2, 6 and 12 weeks after the beginning of treatment) from the depressed subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report that: 1) the serum zinc level was significantly lower (by 22%) in depressed patients than in healthy volunteers, 2) all groups demonstrated a gradual increase in zinc concentrations over the period of imipramine treatment with or without zinc supplementation, 3) treatment-resistant patients demonstrated lower concentrations of zinc (by 14%) than treatment-non-resistant patients, 4) zinc concentrations were higher in zinc-supplemented patients than in placebo-supplemented patients, 5) zinc supplementation increased zinc concentrations over the period of treatment, and 6) at a 12-week imipramine treatment, a significant negative correlation was demonstrated between the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale and the serum zinc level together with a concomitant increase in serum zinc in patients in remission.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum zinc is a state marker of depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Jagiellonian University, Collegium Medicum, Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siwek
authors.forename: Dominika
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dudek
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlegel-Zawadzka
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morawska
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Piekoszewski
authors.forename: Włodzimierz
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Opoka
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zieba
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pilc
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Popik
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nowak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007099:Imipramine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015032:Zinc / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D015032:Zinc; D007099:Imipramine