Fumitaka Sakai

Double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of zinc picolinate for taste disorders.

A total of 73 patients with an idiopathic zinc-deficiency taste disorder completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the efficacy of zinc picolinate. Patients in the zinc treatment group ( n = 37) received 29 mg of zinc picolinate orally by capsule 3 times a day for 3 months. No significant difference was noted between the treatment and placebo groups in terms of improvement in subjective symptoms or whole-mouth taste sensation. However, assessment of taste using the filter paper disk method showed significantly better improvement for the group given zinc, and the serum zinc level was also significantly higher in this group than in the placebo control group.

Clinical Assessment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Nasal Cavity Proper

The subjects were 14 patients with squamous cell carcinoma or undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasal cavity treated at Nihon University Hospital between October 1984 and November 1991, who were followed for at least 3 years. The site of the tumor origin within the nasal cavity was the lateral wall in 8 patients, the nasal septum in three patients, and unknown in three patients. Histologically, there were 13 squamous cell carcinomas in (3 well differentiated, 7 moderately differentiated, and 3 poorly differentiated) and 1 undifferentiated carcinoma. Treatment was by a combination of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery in 8 cases, a combination of radiotherapy and surgery in 5 cases, and surgery alone in 1 case. The 3-year and 5-year Kaplan-Meier survival rates were 86 and 69%, respectively. A total of 6 patients suffered a recurrence, with local recurrence occurring in 4 patients and pulmonary metastasis in 2 patients. Tumor control was achieved in 3 of the 4 cases of local recurrence by reoperation, and by surgery in 1 of the 2 cases of pulmonary metastasis. The duration of the recurrence-free interval in the patients who developed local recurrences, 18 to 46 months after the completion of the initial course of therapy, was of considerable interest.

Influence of Aging on Taste Threshold, Examined by Whole Mouth Method

The whole mouth method is a procedure that is now extensively used for comprehensively evaluating the sensitivities of taste examinations. In this study, the authors evaluated the recognition thresholds of four basic taste qualities in normal subjects (male and female) to observe the changes caused by aging; sex differences were also investigated.

Double-Blind Study of the Therapeutic Efficacy of Zinc Picolinate in Taste Disorder: Preliminary Report

In an earlier study, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of orally given zinc gluconate in taste disorders in a double-blind study [1]. No significant difference was detected between zinc gluconate and placebo. However, a significant superiority of zinc gluconate to placebo was observed in patients with idiopathic and zinc-deficient taste disorders. Here, we studied the therapeutic efficacy of zinc in patients with taste disorders limited to idiopathic and zinc-deficient groups. The test drug was zinc picolinate. We used this drug since Barrie et al. [2] reported that picolinic acid promoted the absorption of zinc in humans, and that it was superior to gluconate. The efficacy was assessed in a double-blind study; the degree of improvement in taste examination, and subjective symptoms, were evaluated.