Zinc Water Prevents Autism-Like Behaviors in the BTBR Mice.

Scientists gave zinc-enriched water to mice bred to show autism-like behaviors. After 6 weeks, these mice showed fewer repetitive behaviors, better social interaction, and were less likely to have seizures. The zinc also helped grow new brain cells in an important memory area of the brain. This animal study suggests zinc might help reduce some autism symptoms, but human studies are needed to confirm if this works for autistic people.

This preclinical study investigated zinc supplementation effects in BTBR mice, a genetic autism model. After 6 weeks of zinc water treatment, researchers observed reduced autism-like behaviors including repetitive behaviors and social communication difficulties. Zinc supplementation also decreased seizure susceptibility and increased hippocampal neural precursor cell proliferation. The study used four groups comparing normal control mice (B6) and BTBR autism model mice, with and without zinc supplementation.

Neurological assessments included behavioral testing, seizure threshold measurements, and brain tissue analysis. Results suggest zinc's therapeutic potential may relate to improved hippocampal neurogenesis and reduced brain hyperexcitability, though effects on neural differentiation were limited.

While promising for understanding zinc's role in autism neurobiology, this preclinical research requires human studies before clinical application. Healthcare providers should exercise caution regarding zinc supplementation without proper assessment of individual zinc status and potential interactions.

Animal model study limits direct translation to humans. Sample size not reported. Single intervention duration tested. Unclear long-term effects. Genetic autism model (BTBR) may not represent all autism presentations. Zinc dosage and administration method may not translate to clinical practice.

This study aims to explore the effects of zinc water on autism-like behavior, convulsion threshold, and neurogenesis in ASD model animals. This study used the young BTBR ASD mouse model to explore the effect of a 6-week zinc water supplementation on ASD-like behaviors such as repetitive behavior and social communication disorder, seizure threshold, and the correlation with excitability regulation. The mice were divided into four groups of normal controls (B6) and models (BTBR) who did and did not receive zinc supplementation in water (B6, B6 + zinc, BTBR, and BTBR + zinc). For morphological changes in the hippocampus, we selected two indicators: hippocampal mossy fiber sprouting and neurogenesis.

ASD-like behavior testing, seizure threshold determination, Timm staining, and neurogenesis-related assays-represented by Ki67 and DCX-were performed after 6 weeks of zinc supplementation. Our results show that zinc water can prevent autism-like behavior, reduce susceptibility to convulsions, and increase the proliferation of hippocampal progenitor cells in BTBR mice but has less effect on mossy fiber sprouting and neural progenitor cell differentiation. Zinc water reduces autism-like behavior in a partially inherited autism model mice-BTBR-which may be associated with hippocampal neural precursor cell proliferation and reversed hyperexcitability.