Zinc status in human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Plasma zinc and copper concentrations, erythrocyte zinc concentration, copper-zinc superoxide dismutase activity and urinary zinc concentrations were determined for control subjects and individuals with AIDS, ARC, or asymptomatic HIV infection. Significant differences among the population groups were not noted for the above parameters with the exception of plasma copper which was higher in the AIDS group than in other patient groups. These results do not support the idea that zinc deficiency is a common contributory factor of HIV infectivity or clinical expression, nor that HIV infection induces a zinc deficiency.