Zinc and other trace metals are important cofactors and modulators of many critical biologic functions in the states of both health and disease. The role of zinc in modulating the immune response and inflammation has posed many questions concerning the potential usefulness of trace metals in modulating inflammatory disease.¹The descriptions of zinc deficiency in acrodermatitis enteropathica,²the correction of the clinical disease in patients with acrodermatitis enteropathica via zinc supplementation,³and the correlation of improvement with certain changes in immunologic variables⁴have focused our attention on the potential usefulness of trace metals in treating inflammatory cutaneous diseases. Previous reports about modulation of autoimmune disease by zinc depletion⁵and the treatment of acne,⁶and a report about dissecting cellulitis of the scalp reported in this issue of theArchives,⁷continue to stimulate our interest in the role of zinc in cutaneous inflammation and its
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David A. Norris (1985) studied this question.