Volume 29, Issue 2 p. 131-149
Review Article

Zinc: indications in brain disorders

Atish Prakash

Corresponding Author

Atish Prakash

Brain Degeneration and Therapeutics Group, Brain and Neuroscience Communities of Research, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, 40450 Malaysia

Department of Pharmacology, ISF college of Pharmacy, Ghal kalan, Moga, 142-001 India

Brain Research Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Campus Puncak Alam, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Bandar Puncak Alam, 42300 Malaysia

Correspondence and reprints: [email protected] or [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
Kanchan Bharti

Kanchan Bharti

Department of Pharmacology, ISF college of Pharmacy, Ghal kalan, Moga, 142-001 India

Search for more papers by this author
Abu Bakar A. Majeed

Abu Bakar A. Majeed

Brain Degeneration and Therapeutics Group, Brain and Neuroscience Communities of Research, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, 40450 Malaysia

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 07 February 2015
Citations: 86

Abstract

Zinc is the authoritative metal which is present in our body, and reactive zinc metal is crucial for neuronal signaling and is largely distributed within presynaptic vesicles. Zinc also plays an important role in synaptic function. At cellular level, zinc is a modulator of synaptic activity and neuronal plasticity in both development and adulthood. Different importers and transporters are involved in zinc homeostasis. ZnT-3 is a main transporter involved in zinc homeostasis in the brain. It has been found that alterations in brain zinc status have been implicated in a wide range of neurological disorders including impaired brain development and many neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, and mood disorders including depression, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and prion disease. Furthermore, zinc has also been implicated in neuronal damage associated with traumatic brain injury, stroke, and seizure. Understanding the mechanisms that control brain zinc homeostasis is thus critical to the development of preventive and treatment strategies for these and other neurological disorders.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.