Abstract. – BACKGROUND: Zinc is one of the most important elements for human body. Zinc deficiency can occur in any age, if it is seen in elderly its clinical results can be more harmful due to already diminished functions. Some stud- ies showed zinc deficiency has an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. In this study we measured the nail zinc levels and aimed to show its clinical implications in geri- atric patients, especially Alzheimer disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 43 patients with Alzheimer disease and 89 patients with normal cognitive function were evaluated.The diagnosis of Alzheimer disease was made according to DSM-IV and NINCDS-ADRDA criteria after cogni- tive assessment and neuroimaging performed using magnetic resonance. Hand fingernail sam- ples are obtained from the patients. RESULTS: Mean zinc level from fingernail sam- ples was 117.99 ± 73.44 ppm in Alzheimer Dis- ease patients, 123.86 ± 77.98 ppm in control group (p: 0.680). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study measur- ing nail zinc levels in elderly patients with and without Alzheimer disease. Our data reveal no significant difference in nail zinc levels between two groups. However, fingernail zinc may be a useful biomarker in elderly population. Key Words: Zinc, Elderly, Alzheimer disease. Introduction Zinc is one of the most important elements for human body which plays important roles in many European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences An alternative way for the evaluation of zinc status in the elderly; nail zinc levels and relationship with Alzheimer’s disease M.E. KUYUMCU 1 , Y. YESIL 1 , Z.A. OZTURK 2 , M. CANKURTARAN 1 , Z. ULGER 1 , M. HALIL 1 , B.B. YAVUZ 1 , B. SAIT 3 , O. AKYOL 4 , H. VURAL 5 , Y. KARA 5 , S. ARIOGUL 1 1 Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey 2 Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey 3 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey 4 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey 5 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey Corresponding Author: Mehmet Emin Kuyumcu, MD; e-mail: mekuyumcu@gmail.com 1467 basic physiologic pathways such as immunity, hormonal system and signal transduction 1 . Al- though zinc deficiency can occur in any age, if it is seen in elderly its clinical results can be more harmful due to already diminished functions. Some studies also showed zinc deficiency has an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD) 2-4 . There are some difficulties in determination of body zinc status. Albumin is probably the most important carrier of zinc from the absorption site to its storage place. In the literature, there are several studies about zinc deficiency but most of them deal with albumin and zinc relation and their levels in serum 5-7 . Due to nutritional factors in geriatric population albumin levels in plasma is not stable. There is no known regulatory sys- tem in the body related with absorption and stor- age of zinc. In long term, zinc stored in nails is more stable than the level in plasma 8 . Therefore, nail zinc levels would be more confidential than serum zinc levels. In this study we measured the nail zinc levels and aimed to show its clinical im- plications in geriatric patients. Patients and Methods Population and Setting Subjects included in this study were patients aged 65 years and over who had presented to the Outpatient Clinics of Division of Geriatric Medi- cine, Department of Internal Medicine, at Hacettepe University Hospital. A majority of our subjects were from Ankara. However, mainly be- 2013; 17: 1467-1471