CAN ZINC CONQUER COLDS?Feel a cold coming on? Sucking on zinc acetate <noinclude> </noinclude> <noinclude> </noinclude> Zinc acetate is the chemical compound with the formula Zn(O2CCH3)2 but more commonly refers to the dihydrate Zn(O2CCH3)2(H2O) lozenges may shorten the symptoms, say researchers at Wayne State University Wayne State University, at Detroit, Mich.; state supported; coeducational; established 1956 as a successor to Wayne Univ. (formed 1934 by a merger of five city colleges). in Detroit. Zinc may have failed to curb cold symptoms in five out of ten earlier studies, they add, because the researchers didn't use the right dose or the right form of zinc. Ananda Prasad Ananda Shiv Prasad (born 1928) is a biochemist specialising in the role of zinc in the human metabolism. Prasad was born in Buxar, Bihar, India in 1928. He studied first at Patna Medical College in Bihar, before going on to take his doctorate at the University of Minnesota. and colleagues recruited 48 people who reported at least two cold symptoms within the previous 24 hours. Each was told to suck on either a placebo or a lozenge lozenge /loz·enge/ (loz´enj) [Fr.] 1. troche; a discoid-shaped, solid, medicinal preparation for solution in the mouth, consisting of an active ingredient incorporated in a suitably flavored base. 2. with 12.8 milligrams of zinc acetate every two to three hours while awake for as long as they had symptoms. Some symptoms didn't last as long in the zinc-takers as in the placebo-takers (three versus six days for cough, four versus six days for nasal discharge, and five versus eight days for overall symptoms). However, the zinc-takers also reported more mouth dryness than the placebo-takers (72 versus 26 percent) and more constipation (24 versus zero percent). As with earlier studies, it's possible that the taste of the zinc lozenges led people to report shorter symptoms (because they correctly guessed what they were taking). Prasad's advice: "Take zinc acetate lozenges for three or four days, and if they don't work, stop." Taking a lozenge every two or three hours adds up to 80 mg a day--too much to take for long periods. "If you took 50 to 100 milligrams of zinc a day for six to 12 weeks, you would become copper-deficient," he adds. And that could cause anemia and impair your immune system immune system Cells, cell products, organs, and structures of the body involved in the detection and destruction of foreign invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Immunity is based on the system's ability to launch a defense against such invaders. . Annals of Internal Medicine Annals of Internal Medicine (Ann Intern Med) is an academic medical journal published by the American College of Physicians (ACP). It publishes research articles and reviews in the area of internal medicine. Its current editor is Harold C. Sox. 245: 302, 2000. |
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