Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
1992-3-24
pubmed:abstractText
Zinc nutritional status appears to decline with age in humans and rodents. Since germ-free rats outlive their conventional counterparts in better health, serum Zn levels were determined in male germ-free and conventional Lobund Wistar rats in samples originating from the Lobund Aging Study. Starting at 5 months of age, germ-free rats showed significantly higher serum Zn levels than did their conventional counterparts. In conventional rats sacrificed up to 30 months of age in apparently good health, serum Zn levels showed no effect of age, while a slight but significant increase with age was observed in the germ-free rats. In healthy germ-free adults (6-24 months of age), serum Zn concentrations were approximately 25% higher than those in comparable conventional animals. In conventional rats 18-30 months of age (average, 24.5 months), sacrificed because of an obvious moribund condition, serum Zn levels were significantly lower than those in rats of the same age range (average, 24.9 months) that were obviously healthy. Results suggest that the often observed higher absorptive capacity of the germ-free gut might have contributed to higher serum Zn levels, and that a decline in serum Zn concentration with age may be a consequence, rather than a causative factor, of declining health.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
0037-9727
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
199
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
218-21
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-2
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1992
pubmed:articleTitle
Serum zinc in aging germ-free and conventional rats.
pubmed:affiliation
Lobund Laboratory, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't