Decreased circulating Zinc levels in Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis study

There is no consensus on the involvement of zinc (Zn) dysfunctions in Parkinson's Disease (PD). We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate whether circulating Zn levels in the serum, plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are altered in PD. Twenty-three published studies were selected by searching the databases of PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). A total of 803 PD patients and 796 controls, 342 PD patients and 392 controls, and 135 PD patients and 93 controls were included to study Zn levels in the serum, plasma, and CSF, respectively. Our meta-analysis showed that the serum Zn levels were significantly lower in PD patients compared with health controls (SMD = -0.59; 95% CI [-1.06, -0.12]; P = 0.014). A reduced Zn levels in PD patients were found when serum and plasma studies were analyzed together (SMD = -0.60, 95% CI [-0.98; -0.22]; p = 0.002). PD patients had a tendency toward reduced CSF Zn levels compared with health controls (SMD = -0.50; 95% CI [-1.76, 0.76]; P = 0.439), but no statistical significance was obtained and this data did not allow conclusions due to a small sample size of CSF studies. This study suggests that reduced Zn levels in the serum and plasma are associated with an increased risk for PD.