BODY COMPOSITION OF DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY PATIENTS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ZINC: A CLINICAL TRIAL
Anthropometry; Body composition; Muscular dystrophies; Neuromuscular diseases; Zinc; Lean body mass; Body fat mass; and Zinc deficiency.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness. Increased total fat mass and reduced lean body mass are side effects of the disease. The methods of assessing the nutritional status of boys with DMD may be imprecise, and the techniques applied in the general population are inadequate and difficult to interpret due to their altered body composition. Zinc is an essential mineral for lean body mass synthesis. Data on zinc content in adipose tissue in obesity are still limited. Zinc supplementation affects body composition, however, this increase occurs especially in children with pre-existing growth deficits. To date, there are no studies evaluating body composition in boys with DMD before and after zinc supplementation. Therefore, three studies were conducted. Study 1 was descriptive and cross-sectional, evaluating 49 boys through anthropometric parameters and body composition. For Study 2, an integrative review on zinc and body composition was conducted to understand what the literature had on the subject. And Study 3 composed a clinical trial that evaluated dietary, biochemical, and body composition parameters before and after zinc supplementation of boys with DMD. We observed an increase in fat mass and decreased lean body mass as age/disease progressed. In previous studies, zinc and body composition were associated, despite the methodological heterogeneity. Zinc supplementation in our population was not enough to preserve lean mass, and it was possible to observe only maintenance of lean and fat muscle mass in boys with the previous deficiency of serum zinc.