Although the brain contains significant quantities of zinc, very little is known about the molecular mechanism that underlie zinc transport and homeostatic mechanisms.
Brain regions with mixed grey and white matter have zinc content reflecting the mixture. Thus the spinal cord contains correspondingly more zinc in segments with a higher proportion of grey matter and less zinc in the segments with a lower proportion of grey matter.
Several zinc-related enzymes which have particular relevance to brain development and brain function. The enzymes 2’3’-cyclic nucleotide 3’-phosphohydrolase and alkaline phosphatase related to the process of myelination and are important during brain maturation.
Dopamine- β -hydroxylase and phenyleyhanolamine-N-methyl transferase which covert dopamine to norepinephrine and norepinephrine to epinephrine respectively, possibly also affect brain catecholamine levels, which have been reported to be higher in zinc deficient animals.
It has been suggested that dementia may represent the long-term cascading effects of error-prone or ineffective DNA-handling enzymes in nerve cells, possibly because of a long term zinc deficiency.
Ina addition, zinc is required by many antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase. With insufficient zinc, the end result could be the destruction of nerve cells and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles and plaques.
Zinc protects nerve and brain tissue
