The Role of Zinc in the Treatment of Wilson's Disease.

Wilson's disease (WD) is a hereditary disorder of copper metabolism, producing abnormally high levels of non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper, the determinant of the pathogenic process causing brain and hepatic damage and dysfunction. Although the disease is invariably fatal without medication, it is treatable and many of its adverse effects are reversible. Diagnosis is difficult due to the large range and severity of symptoms.

Zinc Therapy in Early Alzheimer's Disease: Safety and Potential Therapeutic Efficacy.

Zinc therapy is normally utilized for treatment of Wilson disease (WD), an inherited condition that is characterized by increased levels of non-ceruloplasmin bound ('free') copper in serum and urine. A subset of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or its prodromal form, known as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), fail to maintain a normal copper metabolic balance and exhibit higher than normal values of non-ceruloplasmin copper. Zinc's action mechanism involves the induction of intestinal cell metallothionein, which blocks copper absorption from the intestinal tract, thus restoring physiological levels of non-ceruloplasmin copper in the body.

Zinc and Copper in Alzheimer's Disease.

In a recent meta-analysis by Ventriglia and colleagues studying the association of zinc levels with Alzheimer's disease (AD), serum zinc has been found significantly decreased in AD patients compared with healthy controls. However, such a finding does not necessarily propose the causal role of low zinc in the pathophysiology of this neurodegenerative disease. On the basis of available evidence, free copper toxicosis may play a causal role in age-related AD, and zinc therapy can be a rational causal treatment.