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Zinc in rheumatic heart valves
The Journal of the Association of Physicians of India
|October 1, 1993
Summary
Patients with rheumatic heart disease showed significantly lower plasma and cardiac tissue zinc levels. This zinc deficiency may impact tissue repair, immune function, and infection susceptibility in rheumatic heart disease patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Biochemistry
- Immunology
Background:
- Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a chronic condition affecting heart valves.
- Zinc plays a crucial role in cellular processes, including nucleic acid and protein synthesis.
- Understanding nutrient deficiencies in RHD is vital for patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate plasma and cardiac tissue zinc levels in patients with chronic rheumatic heart disease.
- To compare zinc levels in RHD patients with healthy controls and postmortem heart valve specimens.
- To explore the potential implications of zinc deficiency in RHD pathogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Included 48 patients diagnosed with chronic rheumatic heart disease.
- Utilized 60 healthy control subjects for plasma zinc comparison.
- Examined 20 control heart valve specimens from accident-related postmortem cases.
Main Results:
- Significantly lower plasma zinc levels were observed in RHD patients compared to controls.
- Cardiac tissue zinc levels were also significantly reduced in RHD patients.
- A notable decrease in zinc concentration was evident in both plasma and heart tissue of RHD individuals.
Conclusions:
- Chronic rheumatic heart disease is associated with significantly reduced plasma and cardiac tissue zinc levels.
- Low zinc may impair nucleic acid and protein synthesis, affecting tissue growth and repair in RHD.
- Further research is needed to determine if low zinc influences cell-mediated immunity and infection susceptibility in RHD patients.