Shehla Tabassum, Ghulam Mustafa, Ijaz Ul-haque Taseer.
Frequency of Low Serum Zinc Levels in patients with Cerebral Infarction.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;7(4):874-7.

Aim: To determine the frequency of low serum zinc levels in patients with cerebral infarction. Study design: Descriptive cross-sectional study Setting: Department of Medicine, Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Duration: Six months from December 2011 to June 2012 Methods: One hundred and eighty (180) patients between the ages of 50-80 years were included in the study after identification of clinical features of stroke, on history and detailed clinical examination, and Computed Tomography (CT) scan brain was carried out in all such patients to establish cerebral infarction. Serum samples were obtained within 24 hours of admission and analyzed for serum Zinc levels. All the relevant data were taken and recorded in a specially proforma. Results: One hundred and eighty patients with cerebral infarction were included in the study. Out of 180 patients studied, 103(57.2%) were male while 77(42.8%) were female. Mean age was 62.74±8.55 years. Among those 180 patients, 56(31.1%) patients reached hospital within the first 12 hours of the onset of cerebral infarction, 65(36.1%) patients reached within 13-24 hours, while 59(32.8%) patients reached within 25-48 hours after the onset of stroke. Mean serum zinc level was 12.294±3.18 µmol/L, 59(32.8%) patients had serum zinc level less than the normal reference range while 121(67.2%) patients had serum zinc level within the normal reference limits. Conclusion: The results of this study show that zinc is found to be deficient in a significant proportion of patients with cerebral infarction. The development of new treatment and preventive strategies for the CNS insults need to take into account the role of zinc in neuronal function, damage and repair.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com