Transient partial growth hormone deficiency due to zinc deficiency.

Abstract

We present here a 13-year-old boy with partial growth hormone deficiency due to chronic mild zinc deficiency. When zinc administration was started, his growth rate, growth hormone levels, and plasma zinc concentrations increased significantly. His poor dietary intake resulted in chronic mild zinc deficiency, which in turn could be the cause of a further loss of appetite and growth retardation. There was also a possibility of renal zinc wasting which may have contributed to zinc deficiency. Zinc deficiency should be carefully ruled out in patients with growth retardation.

Studies to Determine the Usefulness of the Zinc Clearance Test to Diagnose Marginal Zinc Deficiency and the Effects of Oral Zinc Supplementation for Short Children

“…There have been some reports on the positive effects of oral zinc supplementation on height velocity in children with definite zinc deficiency [4,5], but in 1993, Nakamura et al conducted the first age-matched control study which showed that oral zinc supplementation was effective in improving the growth rate in short children [6]. The results of another study by Nakamura and his colleagues to evaluate zinc status of short children showed that measurements of serum zinc concentrations were not very useful in estimating the marginal status of zinc nutrition.…”

The effect of growth hormone treatment on growth in zinc deficient rats

“…Growth hormone and Sm-C also significantly increased after the zinc supplement. Collipp gt ~ (1982) and Nishi et ~ (1989) both reported cases of poor qrowth and GH def !ciency apparently due to zinc deficiency.…”

“Functional Food” for Acceleration of Growth in Short Children Born Small for Gestational Age

“…It is well documented that zinc deficiency in rats causes not only growth retardation but also a decrease in both IGF-I plasma concentrations and GH receptors [20][21][22] . Decline in IGF-I was shown with experimentally induced zinc deficiency in human subjects 23 and transient partial growth hormone deficiency due to zinc deficiency were reported in children 24,25 . When oral zinc replacement was given, they had a significant increase in growth rate which continued for at least 2 years, and subsequent growth hormone tests were normal 25 .…”