Metastudy | Zinc reduces mortality in Covid-19

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01.01.2024

At the time of writing this, the number of coronavirus infections is rising again. Compared to spring 2020, the corona misery is limited, but we, the ever-gloomy compilers of this free web magazine, are not completely confident about the developments. So we continue to read studies on non-medical methods to minimize the impact of SARS-CoV-2. Such as this meta-study into the protective effect of supplementation with good old zinc.

Metastudy | Zinc reduces mortality in Covid-19

Study

American researchers, affiliated with the Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, traced 5 trials in which subjects with Covid-19 had been treated with zinc. The test subjects usually also received other drugs - such as hydroxychloroquine - but the trails made a distinction between treatment with and without zinc.

The dosage was high. The test subjects received 50 milligrams of elemental zinc per day, in the form of relatively cheap zinc analogues such as zinc sulphate. That is a dose that you can take for several weeks or months, but perhaps not for years in a row.

The researchers combined the results of the trials and reanalyzed them.

Results
Zinc supplementation had no effect on Covid-19 symptoms. Zinc did reduce the risk of death by 37 percent. You can see the latter below.

Click on the figure for a larger version.

Mechanism

"Zinc is involved in the innate and adaptive immune system, increasing polymorphonuclear cell and macrophage chemotaxis and phagocytosis", write the Americans. "Zinc also regulates the proliferation, maturation, and differentiation of lymphocytes. Zinc has been recognized as therapeutic against other upper respiratory pathogens, such as the common cold."

"It has been shown that increased intracellular zinc concentrations results in decreased SARS-COV-2 replication." [PLoS Pathog. 2010 Nov;6(11):e1001176.] [Int J Mol Med. 2021 Jan;47(1):326-34.]

In cells, zinc may inhibit enzymes such as RdRp and 3CLpro. The virus needs this for its replication. Zinc may also inhibit the ACE receptor on the outside of the cell. SARS-CoV-2 needs that receptor to enter cells.

More coming soon.

Source:
Cureus. 2023 Jun 10;15(6):e40231.

More:
This is the effect of zinc supplementation in covid | Trial 24.01.2023
Indeed, zinc protects against corona 16.07.2021
Preventing zinc deficiency, preventing (or surviving) covid 15.07.2021
Get over your cold quicker with a hefty dose of zinc 21.08.2015
High dose of zinc helps you get over a heavy cold faster 27.12.2011

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Get over colds faster thanks to a combination of zinc and vitamin C Bayer researchers gave several dozen cold patients a gram of vitamin C and 10 milligrams of zinc, and saw that this combination shortened the healing process by days.	Multivitamin protects against viruses If people over 55 take a multivitamin every day with a gram of vitamin C and adequate amounts of micronutrients such as vitamin D, zinc and selenium, they reduce their chances of being infected by a flu or cold virus.	Quercetin makes zinc a better corona protector The protective effect of zinc is probably even stronger when co-supplemented with quercetin, an attentive X-erator told us.