Zinc Homeostasis and Kinetics in Children With Cystic Fibrosis (CF)

Summary

Zinc deficiency has occasionally been reported in CF, but the need for additional zinc is unclear. We will examine the effect of additional zinc supplements on zinc absorption, zinc excretion, zinc balance and zinc kinetics in children with CF. Twelve children with CF will receive additional zinc, and twelve will not. We will also compare the children with CF to 12 healthy children without CF. We hypothesize that children with CF will have poor zinc absorption and high zinc excretion, leading to poor zinc balance and abnormal zinc kinetics. We hypothesize that those children with CF who are given zinc supplements will have higher zinc balance and more normal zinc kinetics than those without supplementation, and that zinc balance and zinc kinetics will be similar to healthy children.

Timeline

Start

2004-05

Primary completion

—

Completion

2007-09

Drugs

Indications