Studies on zinc in wound healing.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Zinc and Zinc Oxide in this randomized controlled trial publication.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of topically applied zinc on leg ulcer healing and examine its effect on some mechanisms in wound healing using standardized animal models.

Why It Was Studied

In a double-blind trial involving 37 leg ulcer patients with low serum zinc levels, topical zinc oxide promoted cleansing and re-epithelialization.

Re-epithelialization, an important mechanism in the closure of leg ulcers, was enhanced with zinc oxide applied topically on partial-thickness wounds in pigs with normal zinc status.

Who Took Part

The abstract describes 37 patients taking part.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized and double-blind study.

The patients were allocated by chance, so the Zinc group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Blinding on both sides kept the patients and researchers unaware of who received Zinc.

What Was Measured

In a double-blind trial involving 37 leg ulcer patients with low serum zinc levels, topical zinc oxide promoted cleansing and re-epithelialization.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Administration, Topical, Disease Models, Animal, Leg Ulcer, Occlusive Dressings, Rats, Skin and Swine.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized and double-blind study of Zinc and Zinc Oxide in 37 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 1990 (Acta dermato-venereologica. Supplementum), a journal based in Norway.

More context: the related Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc library page, all human trials.