Effects of Zinc Supplement on Depressive Symptoms
Zinc is one of the vital bio-element that contributes to a pivotal role in a vast span of biochemical procedures or reactions. Early studies that explored the role of zinc in depression were mostly focused on its antidepressant activity; therefore, all the efforts were made to explain whether zinc enhances antidepressants’ effects. By contrast, current studies try to analyze whether the concentration of serum zinc might be a biomarker of depression. Most of the analyzed clinical studies have illustrated that low levels of this metal intake affect the occurrence of signs and symptoms of depressive disorder. Patients with depression have a lower serum zinc level, a component of different proteins which is significant in regulating the mammalian immune and nervous systems (Nowak 1144). However, disturbances of blood zinc balance can lead to mood swings and affect the operations of the immune system (Siwek 188). The various characteristics of zinc have helped in the production of its supplement, whose responsibility in the pathology of depression can aid in the suppression of depressive symptoms. Therefore, the paper aims to define the role of zinc supplementation and the possible mechanisms in the treatment of depression.
Depression is a mood problem that transforms physical processes, appetite, weight, and sleep (Ranjbaret). However, the adequate amount and duration of Zinc supplementation serve as an antidepressant in patients in depression. Zinc supplementation has been found to contribute to mood disarrays, and hence, incorporated in antidepressant-like functions in laboratory experimentations. Specifically, a zinc deficient diet influences the severity of depressive symptoms. Some studies provide hopeful data confirming that zinc tends to serve as an alternative to the present hypotheses of the system engineering pathophysiology and healing of depression based on the variation in neurotransmission, and lately, in amino-acid ergic mechanisms (Nowak, Siwek, Dudek, 1144). Moreover, the zinc status and the operations of the brain in people relate spasmodically. Hence, the element leads to brain maturation, where the bio-element arbitrates growth by influencing the operation of insulin-like development factor (Sandstead 470S). For example, patients described as anorexia nervosa contain serum and urinary zinc levels that indicate signs of depression. In contrast, sick people that are zinc supplemented show a tremendous reduction in their magnitude of unhappiness and fear (Katz et al. 405). Additionally, the mood disorder is a characteristic of inherited zinc limitation that is developed in patients at their intravenous hyperalimentation (Katz et al., 405; Solari et al. 606). Hence, zinc supplementation is significant in relieving patients from their acquired depression. Therefore, zinc homeostasis contributes to mood disorders based on its vast effects on brain maturation.
Furthermore, Zinc supplementation is responsible for brain maturation and activity which can be assessed by the thymidine levell in the DNA of the brain (Katz 405). Some studies indicate that the deficiency of zinc supplementation impacts remarkable behavioral transformations that include learning, aggression, and memory breakdowns (Katz et al., 405; Sandstead et al. 470S). However, there is no single reliable parameter for the measurement of total body zinc. Just people with suspected zinc deficiency will test their blood plasma for an accurate reading or make some other tests for zinc deficiency including a urine test, or analyse the a strand of their hair to measure the zinc content. As a result zinc absorption may be impaired in patients that are deficient in iron or other micronutrients, for instance, the patients with anorexia study. It occurs to be dangerous since the low levels of zinc in the body impair duplication of extrinsic granular cells meant for the cerebellum and undeveloped arborization of the dendrites intended for the neurons. The scarcity of zinc in pre and postpartum periods of an individual can further cause behavioral deprivations that can endure into adulthood (Sandstead et al., 470S; Siweket al. 193). Hence, supplementing zinc bio-element can help in the augmentation of the reserve of pathologically overexcited NMDA receptors in the patients that do not respond to the administration (Siwek et al., 193). For this reason, zinc supplementation can help in suppressing symptoms associated with depression by impacting the brain.
Zinc effects on depression can also be observed in the industrialized nations based on the serum levels associated with zinc. Common signs that majorly include mood swings due to mild zinc deficiency are evident in the individuals that work in industries. Also, zinc enhancement reduces somatic signs associated with the Cornell Medical Index (CMI) (Sawada and Yokoi). Furthermore, major depression results from a negative association of serum zinc levels and the fatality of the symptoms related to unhappiness. However, the low magnitude of serum in females as contrasted with that of men develops a higher prevalence of unhappiness in women. Though preliminary studies have indicated the treatment using antidepressants surges serum or the levels of plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in depressed individuals, zinc supplementation has not been confirmed to affect the serum BDNF levels (Solati, Jazayeri, Tehrani-Doost, Mahmoodianfard and, Gohari, 166; Ranjbar, Shams, Sabetkasaei, Shirazi, Rashidkhani, Mostafavi, Bornak, and Nasrollahzadeh, 69). Moreover, the impacts of zinc supplementation in inducing brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene manifestation are analogous to the antidepressant system of operation that introduces BDNF gene appearance in the hippocampus (Solati et al.,167). Therefore, zinc supplementation has been employed in industrialized countries because of its significant features that surpass other antidepressant mechanisms in the market.
Overall, zinc supplementation is significant in depressive symptoms. Its administration to the patients can help in thwarting such signs because it is closely associated with the brain maturation. Most of the studies showed a significant reduction in depression scores, some even statistically significant. However, the effect of zinc in BDNF associated with humans needs further studies to discover its results to patients administered with such a mechanism.
Works Cited
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