Johnson S, Peters BS, Johnson G, Hems GM, Pinching AJ; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1989 Jun 4-9; 5: 466 (abstract no. Th.B.P.303).
Department of Dietetics, St. Mary's Hospital, London, UK
OBJECTIVE: To compare the ZTT in AIDS patients with normal controls. METHODS: Malabsorption or dietary inefficiencies in AIDS patients may lead to nutritional defects. Some, such as zinc deficiency, may further compromise immune function. There is no accepted, reliable test for nutritional zinc status. Zinc is a component of gustin, a polypeptide involved in the sense of taste and patients with severe zinc deficiency have impaired taste. The ZTT (Bryce-Smith) has been suggested as a simple and sensitive means of detecting zinc deficiency. A colourless 0.1% solution of zinc sulphate is tasted, responses recorded on a taste scale of 1-4 (1=negative, 2=slight, 3=strong, 4=powerful/unpleasant). We conducted double blind tests using distilled water as comparison in 24 AIDS patients and 10 HIV negative controls. 4/24 AIDS patients had chronic diarrhoea and possible malabsorption. Serum zinc was measured in both groups; diet and nutritional status were assessed. RESULTS: TABULAR DATA, SEE ABSTRACT VOLUME. Abnormal ZTT responses were seen in AIDS patients compared to HIV negative controls (Fisher exact test, p less than 0.025). Diet was comparable in both groups although nutritional status was much poorer in the AIDS patients. CONCLUSION: If the ZTT can be confirmed as a marker of zinc deficiency it would provide a simple clinical means of assessing the need for zinc supplements in AIDS patients.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Diet
- Double-Blind Method
- Humans
- Malabsorption Syndromes
- Nutritional Status
- Taste
- Taste Buds
- Taste Disorders
- Vision
- Zinc
- Zinc Sulfate
- instrumentation
- methods
Other ID:
UI: 102178313
From Meeting Abstracts