Zinc Gluconate in the Treatment of Dysgeusia—a Randomized Clinical Trial

Heckmann, Siegfried M.; Hujoel, Philippe P.; Habiger, S.; Frieß, Wolfgang; Wichmann, Manfred; Heckmann, Josef G.; Hummel, Thomas

doi:10.1177/154405910508400105

Cited by 135 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The conclusions are also given credence by the relatively large sample size compared to those that have been typically employed in many other previous sensory taste studies using clinical samples (n ¼ 5-50) (Stoll and Oepen, 1994;Ripamonti et al, 1998;Yokoi et al, 2003;Matson et al, 2003;Heckmann et al, 2005). It is, however, possible that differences between the samples recruited at the different centres in terms of education and social class may have confounded the findings.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…It is, however, difficult to draw conclusions from previous studies that have looked at zinc status in relation to taste acuity given that most have used zinc-depleted animal models (Liu et al, 1991;Komai et al, 2000;Goto et al, 2001) or clinical patient groups (Ripamonti et al, 1998;Yokoi et al, 2003;Kenway et al, 2004;Heckmann et al, 2005). These findings affirm those of previous animal and clinical studies in implying that salt taste sensitivity is most susceptible to zinc deficiency.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…It is present in saliva (Watanabe et al, 2005) as well as in the salivary gland (Tanaka, 2002) and appears to be linked to gustatory nerve activity (Yokoi et al, 2003). Taste impairment as a result of drug therapy or disease has been observed in cases of zinc deficiency (Kettaneh et al, 2002;Tomita & Yoshikawa, 2002), while supplemental zinc has been shown to ameliorate taste disorder in certain zinc-depleted patient groups (Stoll & Oepen, 1994;Takeda et al, 2004;Heckmann et al, 2005). We do not yet fully understand the nature or magnitude of agerelated taste sensitivity decline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Zinc status and taste acuity in older Europeans: the ZENITH study

Stewart-Knox

Simpson²,

Parr

et al. 2005

Eur J Clin Nutr

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Background: Age-related decline in taste acuity may be both a cause and an effect of depleted zinc and/or increased zinc requirement. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore associations between zinc status and taste acuity in healthy older European adults aged 55-90 y. Sample: Volunteers were recruited within Italy (n ¼ 108 aged 70-90 y), the United Kingdom (UK) (n ¼ 93 aged 55-70) and two regions of France (n ¼ 186), Grenoble (aged 70-90 y) and Clermont-Ferrand (aged 55-70 y). Methods: A signal detection theory approach was adopted, employing a three-alternative, forced-choice procedure. The data were converted to R-indices and bivariate correlations were computed to explore relationships between serum zinc, erythrocyte zinc and taste acuity. ANOVA was undertaken to determine regional differences in zinc status. Results: Higher erythrocyte zinc status was associated with better acuity for salt (sodium chloride) taste in the sample as a whole (P ¼ 0.012) (n ¼ 385). Higher serum zinc levels were associated with greater sensitivity to sour taste (citric acid) (P ¼ 0.015) only in the older groups (aged 70-90 y). There were no apparent associations between serum or erythrocyte zinc status and acuity for bitter (quinine) or sweet (sucrose) tastes irrespective of age. Conclusion: These results agree with those previously suggesting that age-related detriment in sensitivity for salt taste may be associated with depleted zinc.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Zinc status and taste acuity in older Europeans: the ZENITH study

Stewart-Knox

Simpson²,

Parr

et al. 2005

Eur J Clin Nutr

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“…[5,20,[48][49][50][51] This finding was supported in the research done by Najafizade et al [3,5] However it is important to notice at this point that both of the study had some limitations including smaller sample size, it used recognition threshold to measure taste acuity and studied only on head and neck cancer survivors. In contrast to the study of Najafizade et al, there are statistically robust studies in this review which high lights its side effects and ineffectiveness to prevent dysgeusia in cancer patients.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Management of Dysgeusia related to Cancer

Munankarmi

2017

J Lumbini Med Coll

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a ----------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT:Introduction: Taste change due to cancer is a notorious side effect, adversely affecting appetite and weight. Even though taste change or dysgeusia is one of the major causes of poor nutritional status in cancer survivors, it is not addressed as a significant problem and is often left untreated. The main purpose of this review is to explore current knowledge of pharmacological and behavioral interventions for the treatment of cancer related taste change. Methods: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines to identify original articles on taste change. Multiple databases including; Scopus, Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, and all databases via Pro quest were searched for original articles or studies related to taste change caused by cancer or its treatment. Relevant articles were subjected to a full text evaluation and assessed by Critical appraisal skills program (CASP) guidelines and the Effective public health practice project (EPHPP) instrument. Results: The search revealed 12 eligible studies, six of which were randomized controlled trials. Most of the studies used a standardized validated tool to measure taste change. Dysgeusia is common in cancer, 14 to 100% cancer patient report it. Pharmacological management with zinc remains inconclusive as one study reports it as beneficial and two other studies reported null effect. Few studies suggested dietary modifications such as use of sugary, salty foods that are helpful to reduce the effect of dysgeusia. Conclusion: Dietary counseling and informing the patient well about self-care strategies before treatment has consistently shown positive results on taste change, with strong statistical power. Other potential treatments for dysgeusia such as zinc, amifostine, and megestrol acetate gave inconsistent results.

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“…Interestingly, zinc treatment has been reported to improve even idiopathic taste disorder. 21) We recently reported that alleviation of hyposalivation is quite effective for patients with taste disorder because taste disorder is closely related to hyposalivation, 3) as discussed above. However, current methods for increasing salivation are unsatisfactory.…”

Section: Management Of Taste Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of Umami Taste Stimulation to Remedy Hypogeusia Based on Reflex Salivation

Sasano

Satoh‐Kuriwada

Shoji

et al. 2010

Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin

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HYPOGEUSIA AND HYPOSALIVATIONAging is sometimes associated with decreased sensitivity to tastants, i.e., hypogeusia. In the Tohoku University Hospital, decreased taste sensitivity is one of the most common complaints among the elderly.1) In the recent study, the prevalence and causes of gustatory impairment in the elderly were assessed to elucidate the relationship between aging and taste sensitivity. The subjects were comprised of 71 elderly people (male: nϭ19; female: nϭ52), 65 to 94 years of age (meanϭ 80 years), in four different homes for senior citizens with daily meals arranged by a nutritionist. After informed consent was obtained from each subject, the thresholds of the four basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour and bitter) were measured using the filter paper disc method 2) (Sannwa Chemical Laboratory Inc., Nagoya, Japan). Of the 71 subjects, 26 (36.6%) demonstrated hypogeusia, determined as a high threshold for taste sensitivity 3) (Fig. 1). This percentage was significantly higher than expected, indicating that there are many elderly with taste disorders.In the present epidemiologic study, the relationship between the salivary flow rate and the taste threshold was also examined to determine whether hyposalivation influences hypogeusia. Salivary flow rate was measured by the gum test, in which saliva secreted following gum chewing was collected for 10 min. This method is widely used for the clinical assessment of oral dryness. 4) As shown in Fig. 2, whole saliva secretion among taste disorder subjects was significantly decreased whereas it was normal in all subjects with normal Enjoying taste should be one of the greatest pleasures in human life. However, aging is sometimes associated with decreased taste sensitivity, also known as hypogeusia. The loss of taste not only affects quality of life, but can also cause weight loss and health problems in the elderly. Our recent study has shown that 37% of test subjects over 65 years of age exhibited hypogeusia. Further, whole saliva secretion, including minor salivary secretion, was significantly decreased in elderly patients with gustatory impairment, but was normal in all elderly subjects with normal taste thresholds. These data indicate that hyposalivation is closely related to hypogeusia. Moreover, clinical studies have shown that treatment of hyposalivation diminishes hypogeusia, indicating that salivation is essential to maintain normal taste function. However, many medications for relief of dry mouth, such as parasympathomimetic (cholinomimetic) drugs, have serious adverse effects. Palpitation, sweating, nausea, diarrhea and dizziness have all been observed in elderly patients taking parasympathomimetic drugs. To circumvent this problem, glutamate, which produces umami taste, was demonstrated to increase salivary secretion and thereby improve hypogeusia by enhancing the gustatory-salivary reflex. Our data suggests that umami is an effective tool for the relief of hypogeusia without the side effects of parasympathomimetic drugs. Whole saliva secretion in s...

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Zinc Gluconate in the Treatment of Dysgeusia—a Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract: Figure.Taste test [number of taste strips (out of 32) correctly identified; (A) and self-rated dysgeusia (in % of the visual analogue scale; (B) before (black bars) and after (white bars) therapy (means, standard errors of means; zinc group, n = 26; placebo group. n = 24).

Cited by 135 publications

References 19 publications

Zinc status and taste acuity in older Europeans: the ZENITH study

Zinc status and taste acuity in older Europeans: the ZENITH study

Management of Dysgeusia related to Cancer

Application of Umami Taste Stimulation to Remedy Hypogeusia Based on Reflex Salivation

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