Zinc - Nervous System Health Benefits

Nervous System:  Ailments

 Zinc may reduce Aggressiveness.  ^[1]

 Zinc may help to prevent Convulsions (seizures) during Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome.  ^[2]

 Zinc may improve mental function in Alzheimer's Disease patients:  ^[3]

 Preliminary evidence in four patients demonstrated improved Mental Function in Alzheimer’s Disease patients with Zinc supplementation.  In a review of Zinc/Alzheimer’s Disease research, the most respected zinc researcher in the world concluded that Zinc does not cause or exacerbate Alzheimer’s Disease symptoms.

 During the 1990s some evidence implicated excessive Zinc intake or retention as a risk factor for Alzheimer's Disease.  ^[3]

 As a result of this evidence, Alzheimer's Disease patients were advised to avoid Zinc supplementation above the normal RDA of 15 mg as preliminary studies indicated that Zinc plays a role in the progression of Alzheimer's Disease:

 Specifically, Zinc was found to bind to Amyloid-Beta Protein (the form of Amyloid that is a major constituent of the plaque that causes neurofibrillary tangles that characterize Alzheimer's Disease).

 Amyloid-Beta Protein normally exists in a soluble form within the Cerebral Cortex, however it rapidly forms less soluble aggregates with Zinc.  These Amyloid-Beta Protein aggregates formed with Zinc are similar in size and appearance to the Amyloid-Beta Protein plaques found in the Brains of Alzheimer's Disease patients.

 Cerebral Zinc was believed to be altered in Alzheimer's Disease patients.

 Although the highest levels of Zinc in the body normally occur within the Cerebral Cortex of the Brain, impaired Zinc homeostasis in Alzheimer's Disease patients was believed to account for Zinc's toxicity in Alzheimer's patients.  When Zinc levels in the Brain rose even slightly above their normal physiological levels, Amyloid-Beta Protein precipitation occurs.