Zinc status in patients with idiopathic scoliosis.

The zinc content in m. sacrospinalis, hair, leukocytes of peripheral blood, and in serum was examined in 50 patients with idiopathic scoliosis treated by Harrington instrumentation. A control group included 20 patients treated for spinal column injury. A significant decrease of zinc content in back muscles was observed in patients with scoliosis. The value of zinc in hair, leukocytes, and serum did not differ compared with the control group. Similarly, the potassium and magnesium content in muscle was the same in both groups. These results do not suggest that there is a primary zinc deficiency in patients with idiopathic scoliosis. The authors consider the decreased zinc content in back muscle of patients with idiopathic scoliosis to be a secondary disturbance associated with primary deformation of the spinal column.