Zinc Metabolism in Alcoholic Liver Disease

Abstract

Zinc metabolism was studied in 10 alcoholic cirrhotic patients following intravenous injection of zinc 65. Kinetic analysis was performed assuming a two-compartment open system. Values for miscible zinc pool, renal zinc clearance, total zinc turnover, endogenous zinc excretion, and "internal loss" were determined. Comparison with available kinetic data in normal subjects suggests a diminution in pool size and a slower turnover of zinc in these cirrhotic patients. Thus the kinetic data are compatible with the concept of zinc deficiency as a consistent abnormality in this type of cirrhosis. All patients studied had severe hepatic dysfunction but there was little correlation of clinical status with the measurements of zinc metabolism except for the serum zinc level that was within normal limits in the least ill patients. An increased renal clearance of zinc was found in all patients regardless of serum level. A consistent lag period between isotopic equilibrium in urine and plasma suggests that the urinary zinc is more a product of renal cellular zinc turnover than of glomerular filtration.