Zinc, Jing, male fertility & Stimulating growth in an adolescent

[Guest guest]

> Sammy, any role for Zn supplements in prostate cancer?

 

I think so. Indeed, Zn is one method of preventing unwanted aromatisation of

testosterone to estrogen. I briefly mentioned the problem of E in the first

post on PC. Increase in E crowbars T, less T less sperm, less libido. It all

fits in.

 

As for growth in teenagers, you might like to look at work done with

arimidex in this respect. This drug prevents aromatisation of T to E and is

used for postmenopausal BC treatment. However, since E is the growth hormone

that triggers growth endplate ossification and a stop to physical growth,

prevention of excess E in growing boys is desirable if they are to grow

tall. This is the reason girls are usually smaller than boys: they have more

estrogen at an earlier age and so stop growing sooner.

 

I'll get back on this after I have updated my notes on qinghao.

 

> CHA is a great place to learn!

 

So is the TCM group ;-)

 

Sammy.

 

 

 

[]

11 October 2003 14:14

 

Zinc, Jing, male fertility & Stimulating

growth in an adolescent

 

 

Hi All, & Hi Sean,

 

Sean Doherty wrote:

> You might also try zinc supplementation. Oral zinc replacement

> has normalized growth hormone levels and increased growth rate in

> teenagers found to be GH-deficient, (ref. below). Collipp PJ,

> Castro-magana M, Petrovic M et al. Zinc deficiency improvement in

> growth and growth hormone levels with oral zinc therapy. Ann Nutr

> Metab 1982: 26:287-290

 

Interesting stuff, Sean!

 

Semen [Jing] is high in Zn; Zn deficiency can affect male fertility

adversely and Zn supplements can help certain forms of male

infertility. See 5 references, below.

 

 

 

Several posts in the last digest mentioned Qinghao and cancer.

CHA is a great place to learn!

 

Sammy, any role for Zn supplements in prostate cancer?

 

Best regards,

Phil

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Fertil Steril. 2000 Mar;73(3):435-42. Male factor subfertility:

possible causes and the impact of nutritional factors. Wong WY,

Thomas CM, Merkus JM, Zielhuis GA, Steegers-Theunissen RP.

University Hospital Nijmegen, St. Radboud, Nijmegen, The

Netherlands. OBJECTIVE: To review possible causes for male

factor subfertility with emphasis on nutritional factors such as zinc

and folate. DESIGN: A literature search was performed on

MEDLINE and via bibliographies of published works. RESULT(s):

Many causes for male factor subfertility are described in the

literature. Both environmental and genetic factors could play a role.

However, the pathogenesis of male factor infertility is poorly

understood, including the role of specific micronutrients such as

zinc and folate. Both zinc and folate are involved in the synthesis of

DNA and RNA. Despite the fact that zinc deficiency leads to

several clinical symptoms such as decreased spermatogenesis

and impaired male fertility, the exact pathophysiology has not been

clarified. CONCLUSION(s): Because most causes of male factor

subfertility are unknown, more research is needed. Because male

factor subfertility due to nutritional deficiencies is in principle

amenable to curative and/or preventive action by supplementation, emphasis

should be put on studies on the effect of specific nutrients on male

fertility.

Publication Types: Review Review, Tutorial PMID: 10688992 [PubMed - indexed

for MEDLINE]

 

Arch Androl. 1999 Sep-Oct;43(2):135-40. Chronic cadmium toxicity to sperm

of heavy cigarette smokers: immunomodulation by zinc. Al-Bader A, Omu AE,

Dashti H. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University,

Safat. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of zinc therapy in

125

male cigarette smokers with infertility. The mechanism involved in the

zinc/cadmium relationship was evaluated through the effect of a

zinc-deficient

diet and supplementation on testes of male adult Sprague-Drew rats. Heavy

smoking was associated with low sperm count, motility, and morphology and

increased seminal cadmium levels. Zinc therapy improved sperm quality and

increased seminal IL-4, but reduced TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma. A zinc-

deficient diet led to high cadmium testicular accumulation comparable with

those supplemented with cadmium. Cadmium had a linear correlation with TNF-

alpha and IFN-gamma, but not with IL-4. Cytology of testicular aspirate and

histopathology were normal in supplemented groups as in controls. These

results indicate that zinc modulates the putative effect of cadmium through

its

enhancement of T-helper 2 cytokines expression and down-regulation of T-

helper 1 cytokines. Publication Types: Clinical Trial Randomized Controlled

Trial PMID: 10543576 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Am J Clin Nutr. 1992 Jul;56(1):148-57. Effects of dietary zinc depletion on

seminal volume and zinc loss, serum testosterone concentrations, and sperm

morphology in young men. Hunt CD, Johnson PE, Herbel J, Mullen LK. United

States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks

Human Nutrition Research Center, ND 58202. Identification of the

andrological

variables most sensitive to zinc depletion would expedite the diagnosis of

male

reproductive pathology induced by zinc deficiency. Eleven volunteers living

on a

metabolic ward were fed a diet composed of a mixture of a semisynthetic

formula and conventional foods supplemented with ZnSO4 to supply a total of

1.4, 2.5, 3.4, 4.4, or 10.4 mg Zn/d. After an equilibration period of 28 d

(10.4 mg

Zn/d), all treatments were presented for 35 d each, the first four in random

order

and the fifth last. Compared with when they were consuming 10.4 mg Zn/d,

volunteers consuming 1.4 mg Zn/d exhibited decreased semen volumes (3.30

vs 2.24 mL) and serum testosterone concentrations (26.9 vs 21.9 nmol/L), and

no change in seminal zinc concentrations. Compared with 10.4 mg Zn/d,

treatments of 1.4, 2.5, and 3.4 mg Zn/d decreased the total semen zinc loss

per ejaculate (6.29 vs 3.81, 4.68, and 5.03 mumols/ejaculate). Seminal loss

accounted for 9% of total body zinc loss when 1.4 mg Zn/d was consumed.

Seminal phosphorus concentrations were elevated during all four phases of

zinc

depletion (28.4 vs 32.9, 31.0, 34.2, and 33.6 mmol/L). The findings suggest

that

serum testosterone concentrations, seminal volume, and total seminal zinc

loss per ejaculate are sensitive to short-term zinc depletion in young men.

Publication Types: Clinical Trial Randomized Controlled Trial PMID: 1609752

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Ann Nutr Metab. 1986;30(4):213-8. Serum and semen zinc levels in

normozoospermic and oligozoospermic men. Madding CI, Jacob M, Ramsay

VP, Sokol RZ. Zinc is necessary for growth, sexual maturation and

reproduction. Because high concentrations of zinc are found in the male

reproductive system, a relationship between zinc and male infertility has

been

suggested. We studied 11 unselected men who presented to a Reproductive

Endocrinology Clinic with histories of infertility and low sperm counts.

Reproductive hormones and semen and serum zinc levels were measured. All

men had semen analyses performed on at least three separate occasions. A

similar set of laboratory evaluations were performed on 11 other men who had

normal semen analyses and no history of infertility. No abnormalities of

reproductive hormones were found in either group. Mean serum zinc levels

were

significantly lower in the infertile men (p less than 0.05). Mean semen zinc

levels were not significantly different. There was no correlation between

serum

and semen zinc levels in either group. A significant correlation was found

between sperm count and semen zinc (r = 0.66, p less than 0.05) in the

volunteers with normal counts, but not in the oligozoospermic men. The

results

obtained in this study suggest that lowered serum zinc is more common than

formerly appreciated in unselected patients with infertility. The high level

of zinc

found in semen is due primarily to the secretions of the prostate gland and

reflects prostatic stores. Serum zinc is thought to be a reasonable

indicator of

zinc status. The lack of correlation between serum zinc and semen zinc found

in our study suggests that mild zinc deficiency may lower serum zinc while

the

larger prostatic zinc stores remain unaffected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT

250 WORDS) PMID: 3752921 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

J Lab Clin Med. 1980 Sep;96(3):544-50. Experimental zinc deficiency in man.

Effect on testicular function. Abbasi AA, Prasad AS, Rabbani P, DuMouchelle

E. Dietary zinc intake was restricted (2.7 to 5.0 mg daily) for 24 to 40

weeks in

five male volunteers. Their mean age was 57 years. Oligospermia (total sperm

count less than 40 million per ejaculate) was induced in four out of five

subjects. A decrease in the sperm count occurred during zinc restricion and

the early phase of zinc repletion before body stores of zinc were restored

to

normal. The duration of oligospermia in the four subjects ranged from 6 to

14

months. Oligospermia was reversed after zinc supplementation in physiologic

amounts. The baseline sperm concentration and total sperm count per

ejaculate in all five subjects dropped significantly (p < 0.05) after zinc

restriction

and returned to normal 6 to 12 months after zinc supplementation. The

decrease in sperm count coincided with decline in Leydig cell function and

was

reversed after zinc supplementation in low doses. Our study has demonstrated

that dietary restriction of zinc can affect testicular function adversely.

This effect

of zinc deficiency, however, is a reversible process and can be corrected by

proper supplementation with zinc. PMID: 6772723 [PubMed - indexed for

MEDLINE]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

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[Guest guest]

Hi All, & Hi Sammy

 

> I am forwarding this from the CHA list as it may be of interest.

> This Zn thing again, is a 'mechanistic' explanation for something

> that works. I like to tie in the energetic with the mechanistic, so

> does anyone know which meridians are affected with foods high in

> zinc - whole grain cereals for example ? I'd hazard a guess and say

> KI because KI is associated with reproductive function, plus the

> 'tissue' of the kidney is the bone. Any first year TCM student

> should be able to answer this one so someone have a go please !!

> Sammy.

 

.... and SKIN (?LU) and NAIL/animal hoof-horn [?LV]. Apart from

effects on the testes, sperm & fertility, classical signs of Zn

deficiency in animals include parakeratosis [skin thickening +

flakes/cracks] + bad hooves/laminitis.

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

Email: <

 

WORK : Teagasc Research Management, Sandymount Ave., Dublin 4, Ireland

Mobile: 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

 

HOME : 1 Esker Lawns, Lucan, Dublin, Ireland

Tel : 353-; [in the Republic: 0]

WWW : http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/searchap.htm