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REVIEW article

Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Neonatology
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2024.1496846
This article is part of the Research Topic The Effects of Emerging and Commonly Used Medications on the Developing Brain View all articles

The Role of Zinc in Premature Brain: Functions, Outcomes and Future Research Perspectives

Provisionally accepted
Myrsini Chamakioti Myrsini Chamakioti 1,2Luc Brion Luc Brion 3Pranav Viswanathan Pranav Viswanathan 4Cheryl S. Lair Cheryl S. Lair 5Dimitrios Angelis Dimitrios Angelis 3*
  • 1 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
  • 2 Aghia Sofia General Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece
  • 3 Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States
  • 4 Medical School, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States
  • 5 Parkland Health & Hospital System, Dallas, Texas, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Zinc (Zn) is one of the most prevalent and essential micronutrients, found in 10% of all human proteins and involved in numerous cellular enzymatic pathways. Zn is important in the neonatal brain, due to its involvement in neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, and neural signaling. It acts as a neuronal modulator and is highly concentrated in certain brain regions, such as the hippocampus, and the retina. Low Zn intake is frequent in several countries and in populations with high poverty index. Preterm infants are at risk for Zn deficiency for prenatal (missing fetal Zn) and postnatal reasons (less intestinal absorption and insufficient intake in maternal milk to match fetal accretion). The amount of Zn needed for preterm infants is not known and remains the subject of controversy. Recent nutritional recommendations favored an increase in daily Zn supplementation. Systematic reviews of randomized trials have shown that Zn supplementation in preterm infants increases weight gain and may decrease mortality. In this review we will summarize the role of Zn in brain functions and outcomes in preterm newborns, gaps in knowledge and areas of future research.

    Keywords: "Zinc, " "Brain, " "Neonates, " "Neurodevelopment, " "mechanisms"

    Received: 15 Sep 2024; Accepted: 25 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chamakioti, Brion, Viswanathan, Lair and Angelis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Dimitrios Angelis, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 75390, Texas, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.