Severe Zinc Deficiency

Abstract

The realization that acrodermaitis enteropathica (AE) was a zinc-responsive syndrome (Moynahan and Barnes 1973) provided the archetype of severe human zinc deficiency which aided the recognition of sporadic severe zinc deficiency accompanying total parenteral nutrition (TPN) in adults (Kay et al. 1976) and children (Arakawa et al. 1976) and in a variety of other conditions. This chapter outlines the features of severe zinc deficiency and the various conditions in which this has been observed.