Zicam-Induced Damage to Mouse and Human Nasal Tissue Export

@article{citeulike:6074562, abstract = {Intranasal medications are used to treat various nasal disorders. However, their effects on olfaction remain unknown. Zicam (zinc gluconate; Matrixx Initiatives, Inc), a homeopathic substance marketed to alleviate cold symptoms, has been implicated in olfactory dysfunction. Here, we investigated Zicam and several common intranasal agents for their effects on olfactory function. Zicam was the only substance that showed significant cytotoxicity in both mouse and human nasal tissue. Specifically, Zicam-treated mice had disrupted sensitivity of olfactory sensory neurons to odorant stimulation and were unable to detect novel odorants in behavioral testing. These findings were long-term as no recovery of function was observed after two months. Finally, human nasal explants treated with Zicam displayed significantly elevated extracellular lactate dehydrogenase levels compared to saline-treated controls, suggesting severe necrosis that was confirmed on histology. Our results demonstrate that Zicam use could irreversibly damage mouse and human nasal tissue and may lead to significant smell dysfunction.}, author = {Lim, Jae H. and Davis, Greg E. and Wang, Zhenshan and Li, Vicky and Wu, Yuping and Rue, Tessa C. and Storm, Daniel R.}, citeulike-article-id = {6074562}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007647}, day = {30}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0007647}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, keywords = {animal, drug, human, odorant}, month = {October}, number = {10}, pages = {e7647+}, posted-at = {2009-11-05 14:14:58}, priority = {2}, publisher = {Public Library of Science}, title = {Zicam-Induced Damage to Mouse and Human Nasal Tissue}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007647}, volume = {4}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:6074562 L3 - citeulike-article-id:6074562 N2 - Intranasal medications are used to treat various nasal disorders. However, their effects on olfaction remain unknown. Zicam (zinc gluconate; Matrixx Initiatives, Inc), a homeopathic substance marketed to alleviate cold symptoms, has been implicated in olfactory dysfunction. Here, we investigated Zicam and several common intranasal agents for their effects on olfactory function. Zicam was the only substance that showed significant cytotoxicity in both mouse and human nasal tissue. Specifically, Zicam-treated mice had disrupted sensitivity of olfactory sensory neurons to odorant stimulation and were unable to detect novel odorants in behavioral testing. These findings were long-term as no recovery of function was observed after two months. Finally, human nasal explants treated with Zicam displayed significantly elevated extracellular lactate dehydrogenase levels compared to saline-treated controls, suggesting severe necrosis that was confirmed on histology. Our results demonstrate that Zicam use could irreversibly damage mouse and human nasal tissue and may lead to significant smell dysfunction. IS - 10 JF - PLoS ONE TI - Zicam-Induced Damage to Mouse and Human Nasal Tissue PB - Public Library of Science VL - 4 SP - e7647 KW - animal KW - drug KW - human KW - odorant AU - Lim, Jae AU - Davis, Greg AU - Wang, Zhenshan AU - Li, Vicky AU - Wu, Yuping AU - Rue, Tessa AU - Storm, Daniel PY - 2009/10/30/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007647 ER -