319 ZINC-65 RETENTION IN PATIENTS WITH STASIS LEG ULCERS
SIR,-We follow with interest the correspondence on zinc and its relation to acrodermatitis enteropathica.1 The findings in that rare disease, after the report of its response to treatment with zinc,2 have partly diverted interest from other clinical aspects of zinc metabolism. We refer in particular to patients with the common condition of stasis ulceration of the legs, about whom there are conflicting reports of blood-zinc levels,3-5 and the effect of oral zinc sulphate on healing.5-9 We have studied a small group of such patients over the past two years by the technique of whole-body counting. This method also helped in the elucidation of acrodermatitis enteropathica,’O but it has not, as far as we are aware, been applied to patients with leg ulcers. Some findings of ourselves and our colleagues are in the press" and to these we now add others and summarise the position. The long-term retention of radioactive zinc-65 has been measured after oral or intravenous administration in a group of patients with stasis leg ulcers (group A) and a second group with minor dermatological disorders (group B). The retentions, measured over a year, were made with a whole-body monitor of the shadow-shield type.’2 A simple least-squares computer program was used to obtain an equation describing the retention of zinc-65 with time. Few comparable studies of long-term zinc-65 kinetics have apparently been made. We have summarised some of the data on healthy subjects in the accompanying table and we include our data for comparison. SOME AVAILABLE BIOLOGICAL HALF-TIMES FOR
.
patients with leg ulcers have, port for their practice.
at
least,
some
experimental sup-
Regional Medical Physics Department, Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6BE
T. HAWKINS
University Department of Dermatology, Queen Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP
JANET MARKS
EFFECT OF VITAMIN C ON COLD-INDUCED VASODILATATION
SIR,-Vitamin C has been shown to increase the mean skin temperature in the cold as well as to decrease the sensation of discomfort resulting from cold exposure.’ On recent Arctic exercises, we observed that there was a decreased cold-induced vasodilator (C.I.V.D.) response in military personnel after their stay in the Arctic.2 A relative deficiency of vitamin C has been observed in these men.3 Because of these findings, a preliminary experiment examining the effect of vitamin C (2000 mg/day for one month) on C.I.V.D. response was carried out on four laboratory personnel at the end of the month of July. Each subject was tested by immersing his middle left finger in an ice-water bath and recording finger temperatures each minute for 30 minutes.4 r
r
ZiNC-65
Intravenous administration.
biological half-times of the group-B patients show wide variation, though they are in general agreement with the normals. Compared with these, the group-A patients indicate a slight but significant (0-02
SIR,-We follow with interest the correspondence on zinc and its relation to acrodermatitis enteropathica.1 The findings in that rare disease, after the report of its response to treatment with zinc,2 have partly diverted interest from other clinical aspects of zinc metabolism. We refer in particular to patients with the common condition of stasis ulceration of the legs, about whom there are conflicting reports of blood-zinc levels,3-5 and the effect of oral zinc sulphate on healing.5-9 We have studied a small group of such patients over the past two years by the technique of whole-body counting. This method also helped in the elucidation of acrodermatitis enteropathica,’O but it has not, as far as we are aware, been applied to patients with leg ulcers. Some findings of ourselves and our colleagues are in the press" and to these we now add others and summarise the position. The long-term retention of radioactive zinc-65 has been measured after oral or intravenous administration in a group of patients with stasis leg ulcers (group A) and a second group with minor dermatological disorders (group B). The retentions, measured over a year, were made with a whole-body monitor of the shadow-shield type.’2 A simple least-squares computer program was used to obtain an equation describing the retention of zinc-65 with time. Few comparable studies of long-term zinc-65 kinetics have apparently been made. We have summarised some of the data on healthy subjects in the accompanying table and we include our data for comparison. SOME AVAILABLE BIOLOGICAL HALF-TIMES FOR
.
patients with leg ulcers have, port for their practice.
at
least,
some
experimental sup-
Regional Medical Physics Department, Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 6BE
T. HAWKINS
University Department of Dermatology, Queen Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP
JANET MARKS
EFFECT OF VITAMIN C ON COLD-INDUCED VASODILATATION
SIR,-Vitamin C has been shown to increase the mean skin temperature in the cold as well as to decrease the sensation of discomfort resulting from cold exposure.’ On recent Arctic exercises, we observed that there was a decreased cold-induced vasodilator (C.I.V.D.) response in military personnel after their stay in the Arctic.2 A relative deficiency of vitamin C has been observed in these men.3 Because of these findings, a preliminary experiment examining the effect of vitamin C (2000 mg/day for one month) on C.I.V.D. response was carried out on four laboratory personnel at the end of the month of July. Each subject was tested by immersing his middle left finger in an ice-water bath and recording finger temperatures each minute for 30 minutes.4 r
r
ZiNC-65
Intravenous administration.
biological half-times of the group-B patients show wide variation, though they are in general agreement with the normals. Compared with these, the group-A patients indicate a slight but significant (0-02
