Clinical trials assessing zinc supplementation in liver diseases do not show benefits in terms of clinical improvement or disease halting .
There are possible benefits of zinc supplementation on hepatic encephalopathy , however , this is based on limited evidence .
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Zinc deficiency has been associated with poor prognosis in chronic liver disease .
This systematic review and meta- analysis aim ed to evaluate the role of zinc supplementation in the management of chronic liver diseases .
Preliminary study of combination therapy with interferon-α and zinc in chronic hepatitis C patients with genotype 1b
We have evaluated the efficacy of  interferon-α ( IFN-α ) plus zinc therapy  in hepatitis C patients with genotype 1b , poor responders for IFN alone . Ten patients were injected with 10 MU of IFN-α every day for 4 wk , followed by three times a week for 20 wk ( control group ) . Nine patients took 300 mg of zinc sulfate a day orally during IFN-α therapy ( zinc sulfate group ) , and 15 patients took IFN-α and 150 mg of polaprezinc ( polaprezinc group).On the d 8 of IFN therapy , circadian zinc levels in serum elevated significantly in the polaprezinc group compared to the zinc sulfate group or control group . Serum ALT levels normalized in 73.3 % of the polaprezinc group , 55.6 % of the zinc sulfate group , and 40.0 % of the control group at 6 mo after the end of IFN therapy . Sustained eradication for the hepatitis C virus RNA judged at the end of the 6-mo follow-up period was higher in the polaprezinc group than in the zinc sulfate group ( 53.3 % vs 11.1 % , p<0.05 ) or the control group ( 20.0 % ) . No clinical side effects of zinc were observed at the dose used . The data suggest that polaprezinc is expected to increase the therapeutic response of IFN-α for chronic hepatitis C with genotype 1b
Clinical trials assessing zinc supplementation in liver diseases do not show benefits in terms of clinical improvement or disease halting .
There are possible benefits of zinc supplementation on hepatic encephalopathy , however , this is based on limited evidence .
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Zinc deficiency has been associated with poor prognosis in chronic liver disease .
This systematic review and meta- analysis aim ed to evaluate the role of zinc supplementation in the management of chronic liver diseases .