Administering zinc medications to Covid-19 patients with low levels of this element may be a strategy to reduce mortality and recovery time. At the same time, it may help prevent at-risk groups, such as the elderly, from suffering the worst effects of the disease. These are study findings by physicians and researchers from Hospital del Mar, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), led by Dr. Robert Güerri, a physician at the Hospital del Mar Infectious Diseases Service, just published in the journal Nutritionists.
The study analyzed the zinc levels of 249 adult patients treated at the center between 9 March and 1 April 2020, with an average age of 65 years. The most common symptoms presented at the time of admission were fever, cough and dyspnea. In all cases, they checked their blood zinc levels, estimating those below 50 μ / dl to be low.
As Dr. Güerri, the first author of the clinical study, explained, they analyzed this parameter because “zinc is an essential element for the maintenance of various biological processes, and altering its levels causes increased vulnerability to disease and an increased inflammatory response “. For this reason, “given the comorbidities associated with zinc deficiency and its immunomodulatory and antiviral activities, zinc levels and zinc fortification may be useful tools to address the Covid-19 crisis”.
Higher mortality in patients with lower zinc levels
1 in 4 patients had low levels of zinc. This group had more severe symptoms and higher levels of slam as measured by two markers, C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), which measure the inflammatory response. On average, their hospital stays were three times longer than patients with higher levels of zinc (25 days compared to 8).
In terms of mortality, zinc levels were significantly higher in patients who survived the disease, 62 μ / dl, versus 49 μ / dl for those who died. In addition, 1 in 5 patients died of low zinc levels. On the other hand, those who showed higher mortality rates when admitted were at 5%. The study reveals that a one-unit increase of zinc in blood plasma is directly linked to a 7% reduction in the risk of death from Covid-19.
We have demonstrated the importance of zinc levels in patients’ blood as a predictor of additional production in Covid-19, as well as its potential as a therapeutic tool for treatment. We therefore propose this variable as a new parameter to predict patient evolution and recommend the initiation of clinical trials for zinc supplementation in patients with low discharged levels. applying for Covid-19 and implementing programs to provide medicines to groups at risk of low zinc levels reduced the impact of the pandemic ”.
Dr. Robert Güerri, Physician, Hospital del Mar Infectious Diseases Service.
Zinc effect on coronavirus reproduction
The study involved collaboration between Drs. Rubén Vicente and Dr. Juana Díez at UPF. Their efforts, using in vitro methods, have focused on a parallel study of the effect of zinc levels on the virus’ ability to spread. The results confirm that the poor prognosis in patients with low zinc concentration is due to both the effect of zinc deficiency on immune imbalance and the increase in viral load, as they found that -out low levels of zinc contribute to the spread of the virus. in infectious cells.
At the same time, the results indicate that an element must be sought to allow zinc activity in the cell to inhibit viral reproduction, as their studies have shown that chloroquine cannot counteract the was diagnosed at the onset of pandemic. accomplish this task.
Source:
IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute)
Magazine Reference:
Vogel-González, M., et al. (2021) Low zinc levels at entrants with clinical adverse effects in SARS-CoV-2 disease. Nutritionists. doi.org/10.3390/nu13020562.