title: Zinc deficiency may be a cause of burning mouth syndrome as zinc replacement therapy has therapeutic effects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Zinc is known to play an important role for growth and development, the immune response, neurological function, and reproduction. Although the etiology of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is unknown, zinc deficiency may be implicated in the pathogenesis of BMS. The aim of this study was to demonstrate a causal relationship between zinc deficiency and BMS and to assess whether zinc replacement is an effective therapy for BMS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum zinc level was evaluated in 276 patients with BMS. To assess the therapeutic effect of zinc replacement, patients with zinc deficiency were administered a zinc supplement (14.1 mg/day). Pain intensity 6 months after zinc replacement was evaluated using an 11-point numerical scale. We also developed an animal model of zinc deficiency to assess the effects of zinc deficiency on the oral mucosa.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 276 patients with BMS, 74 (26.8%) had low serum zinc levels. Zinc replacement therapy lowered the mean numerical pain scale in these patients from 8.1 to 4.1, compared with a mean decrease from 7.7 to 6.7 in a control group (P = 0.004). In our animal model of zinc deficiency, the main pathologic findings were hyperkeratinization and increased mitosis on the dorsum of the tongue, although there were no gross oral mucosal lesions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Zinc deficiency might play a role in some patients with BMS. In such patients, appropriate zinc replacement therapy is effective in relieving symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Gye Song
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Myung Woul
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Beomsuk
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jong-Lyel
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Roh
authors.forename: Seung-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Kyung-Ja
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Soon Yuhl
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Sang Yoon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002054:Burning Mouth Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D003677:Deficiency Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014059:Tongue / Q000473:pathology; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D015032:Zinc