Does hair zinc predict amphetamine improvement of ADD/hyperactivity?
Arnold LE, Votolato NA, Kleykamp D, Baker GB, Bornstein RA. (1990) Int J Neurosci. 50(1-2) 103-7
Abstract:
In 18 boys with ADHD (ages 6-12) in a balanced crossover design, parent and teacher hyperactivity rating differences between one month of dextroamphetamine and one month of placebo correlated significantly (p less than .05, 2 tailed) on Pearson's r with baseline hair zinc levels and nonsignificantly with 24-hour urinary zinc excretion.
The signs of the correlations were such that a higher baseline zinc predicted a better placebo-controlled response to amphetamine. Patient baseline urinary zinc was significantly (p less than .02) lower than 7 normal controls.
These findings are compatible with the possibility that some ADHD children may be mildly deficient in zinc and constitute poorer stimulant responders. Correlations of zinc levels with 24-hour urinary MHPG were in the expected direction but nonsignificantly by 2-tailed test.
FAB RESEARCH COMMENT:
In this small controlled clinical trial, higher baseline zinc status - as assessed from hair samples - was found to predict better responses to stimulant medication in young children with ADHD.Zinc deficiency in ADHD children was reported to be common by Colquhoun and Bunday in their pioneering observational study, suggesting that the hyperactivity and attentional difficulties that define ADHD may reflect 'Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency' - i.e. deficiencies in the biologically essential long-chain, highly unsaturated forms of omega-3 and omega-6 (known as LC-PUFA, or HUFA). See:
As they noted, zinc is essential for the in-vivo synthesis of omega-3 and omega-6 LC-PUFA from the shorter-chain omega-3 and omega-6 found in some plant oils.
A recent study found significantly lower zinc status in ADHD children than controls (in serum, urine as well as hair samples), and that zinc was further depleted in the ADHD children - but not in controls - following ingestion of the artificial food colouring tartazine ('sunset yellow'). See:
Seafood and red meat are the richest dietary sources of zinc, while phytates found in many plant foods (including cereal grains, legumes, potatoes, root vegetables and nuts & seeds) - are known to significantly reduce absorption.
Further investigations of zinc in relation to ADHD are clearly warranted - ideally including dietary as well as biochemical and clinical assessments.
For more information on this topic, please see:
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