Impact of Zinc Supplementation on Intestinal Permeability in Bangladeshi Children with Acute Diarrhoea and Persistent Diarrhoea Syndrome

Zinc has been shown to enhance intestinal mucosal repair in patients suffering from acrodermatitis enteropathica; but the impact on mucosal integrity during acute (AD) or persistent (PD) diarrhoea is unknown. One hundred eleven children with AD and 190 with PD aged between 3 and 24 months received, randomly and blind to the investigators, either an elemental zinc supplement of 5 mg/kg body wt/day or placebo in multivitamin syrup for 2 weeks while intestinal permeability and, biochemical and anthropometric markers were serially monitored. The permeability test was administered as an oral dose of 5 g lactulose/l g mannitol in a 20-ml solution followed by a 5-h urine collection. The ratio of the urinary probe sugars was correlated to clinical, biochemical, and…