A dietary copper deficiency in humans is associated with a decrease in dopamine levels. This is why it is important to somewhat stick close to the recommended daily amounts of copper. The role of copper in liver disorders is best recognized in wilsons disease, in which hepatic copper accumulation is not only pathognomonic, but also pathogenic as a source of cellular reactive oxygen species. The most common cause of acquired copper deficiency is malabsorption due to bariatric surgery 68. Copper has also been suggested to play a role in the immune response, and cattle that are copper deficient may be more prone to infectious diseases. The copper is available, but it cannot get into cells. Copper biochemistry and molecular biology the american. Diagnosis of inherited copper deficiency is based on low copper and ceruloplasmin levels in serum. This is because zinc and copper compete for absorption in the stomach, with zinc being the usual winner. This is why low plasma copper has been linked to iron accumulation in the liver, brain, and retina. Copper deficiency is an increasingly reported but underrecognized cause of neurologic dysfunction. Without enough copper present in the body, signs of a copper deficiency can occur, such as low metabolic activity, fatigue, trouble concentrating, a poor mood and more. The total amount of copper in an adult human body is approximately 50120 mg. Here are the symptoms and how your doctor can treat it if youre diagnosed.
Copper deficiency may underlie osteoporosis, anemia and. In humans, copper is essential to the proper functioning of organs and metabolic processes. Copper is essential for absorbing iron from the gut 2. Excessive copper can cause temporary copper poisoning, and lead to nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and cramps, diarrhea, anemia, kidney damage, and liver damage. Most cases of copper deficiency in adults occur in patients receiving total parenteral hyperalimentation,3 although there have been cases resulting from enteral feeding that did not include copper. Copper deficiency in horses is one of the very important horse health supplements. Acquired copper deficiency in childhood may also cause skeletal abnormalities, hypopigmented hair and hypotonia, impaired growth and immunity 6, 32. However, for most of the salient features of human copper deficiency, the precise molecular mechanisms are unknown. The rising prevalence of copper deficiency is due in part to the fact that many people are simply not eating as many copperrich foods as they once did. Copper binds to sulfhydryl moieties and may oxidize them, whereas zinc binds and protects against oxidation. Wilsons disease o serum copper is low, which may seem paradoxical given that wilsons disease is a disease of copper excess, however it is sequestered in the liver.
Clinicopathological analysis of hematological disorders in tubefed patients with copper deficiency. Copper deficiency is a rare cause of anemia, leukopenia, and myeloneuropathy, but should be considered. Copper deficiency masquerading as myelodysplastic syndrome. Her studies investigate the nutritional status of bariatric surgery patients and focus on deficiencies in iron, copper, vitamin d, and essential fatty acids. More recently, research has indicated that copper helps prevent inflammation in arthritis and similar diseases. Copper deficiency during the gestational and perinatal periods has particularly severe consequences, relating to neurological abnormalities.
Copper absorption, excretion, and retention by young men. If further investigations prove the copper deficiencytse hypothesis to be accurate, i. There are two main causes of copper deficiency in sheep and cattle. Copper deficiency is usually the consequence of decreased copper stores at birth, inadequate dietary copper intake, poor absorption, elevated requirements induced by rapid growth, or increased copper losses. Research is going on into antiulcer and antiinflammatory medicines containing copper, and its use. With the plentiful supply of dietary copper, acquired copper deficiency is relatively uncommon compared with other causes of. Copper is an essential trace element for animals needed for body, bone and wool growth, pigmentation, healthy nerve fibres and white blood cell function. Copper cu is involved in the functions of many copperdependent proteins, including transcriptional regulators, chaperones, oxidoreductases, mitochondrial electron transport and free radical.
Copper deficiency in sheep and cattle agriculture and food. Research has revealed that copper is vital for the optimal health of the human body. In many animal species, including humans, copper deficiency is characterized by hypochromicmicrocytic anemia and neutropenia 1214. Information is provided on the nutritional biochemistry of copper, including food sources, intestinal absorption, transport, tissue distribution, and excretion, along with descriptions of copper. Caused by copper deficiency for longterm enteral nutrition. We present a patient with copper deficiency myeloneuropathy who had partial reversal of. In humans, copper deficiency is a rare cause of myeloneuropathy. Copper toxicity is thought to be more of a concern than copper deficiency. Spurring of the femur and tibia are also noted on radiographic imaging.
The essentiality of copper for animals was reported in 1928 in a study showing that it is essential for erythropoiesis in rats fed a milkbased diet hart et al. When copper levels are low, the body may absorb less iron. Copper deficiency as cause of unexplained hematologic and. Copper deficiency an overview sciencedirect topics.
Copper deficiency is quite rare in humans because it is a nutrient that is readily consumed and has a very low daily requirement. Acquired copper deficiency has only recently been recognized to cause a myelopathy in humans. Deficiency causes serious health problems, but is very rare. However, diagnostic accuracy of these tests is limited. The existence of copper deficiency in humans was debated for many years from the time josephs 1 suggested in 1931 that copper deficiency would account for. Copper deficiency myelopathy human swayback request pdf. Because of its greater solubility, boric acid might be preferred over borax for foliar spray application. The human body has complex homeostatic mechanisms which attempt to ensure a constant supply of available copper, while eliminating excess copper whenever this occurs. Copper is an essential cofactor in many enzymatic reactions vital to the normal function of the hematologic, vascular, skeletal, antioxidant, and neurologic systems 1. Copper deficiency a common issue the western producer. Copper deficiency is usually the consequence of decreased copper stores at birth, inadequate dietary copper intake, poor absorption, elevated requirements. Deficiency disorders are more often caused by genetic faults in the transport proteins than by a diet low in copper.
Humans express about a dozen proteins that require copper for function cuproenzymes. It is a cofactor for several enzymes known as cuproenzymes involved in energy production, iron metabolism, neuropeptide activation, connective tissue synthesis, and neurotransmitter synthesis. It can be applied either to the foliage or as soilapplied fertilizer. Zinc toxicity results in copper deficiency presumably secondary to impaired copper absorption, hypoferremia, and microcytic anemia in humans beutler, 2006a. Based on studies in animals and humans, the effects of copper deficiency include anemia, hypopigmentation, hypercholesterolemia, connective tissue disorders, osteoporosis and other bone defects, abnormal lipid metabolism, ataxia, and increased risk of infection 1,19,20.
Copper deficiency in horses peakhorsehorse supplements. Copper has been used as a medicine for thousands of years including the treatment of chest wounds and the purifying of drinking water. Menkes disease is wellknown as an inherited disorder of copper transport from the intestine. In relation to ihd, the heart is one of the main organs affected by copper deficiency, causing a reduction in metabolism and energy supply in the heart. Essentiality of copper in humans the american journal of. To ensure good health for horses, they need copper for the formation of connective tissue, to help reduce inflammation, utilise iron in the body, form strong bones and blood vessels, and also to maintain hair colour. Copper is an essential trace element vital to the health of all living organisms. The liver is the fundamental organ involved in copper. Copper is an essential trace element that is vital to the health of all living things humans, plants, animals, and microorganisms. Gyorffy and chan, 1992, and zinc toxicity, from the use of galvanized feeding bins, resulted in copper deficiency and anemia in pigs pritchard et al.
This potentially treatable disorder manifests clinically as a profound sensory ataxia and can be associated with signalintensity change in the dorsal columns of the spinal cord, resembling b 12 deficiency. Erythropoiesis was improved when copper sulfide containing ash was added back to the diet hart et al. The nutritional relationships of copper trace elements. The neurologic syndrome was first recognized in ruminants afflicted with an ataxic myelopathy colloquially referred to as swayback. Clinical conditions altering copper metabolism in humans1,2. The importance of reductions in the activity of cytochrome oxidase in causing the manifestations of cu. Copper deficiency symptoms can be alleviated in several ways, and these depend on the severity of the copper deficiency. Familial benign copper deficiency is a rare disorder of mineral absorption and transport characterized by hypocupremia that manifests as failure to thrive, mild anemia, repeated seizures, hypotonia, and seborrheic skin. Zinc supplementation is also a common cause of copper deficiency. Because early diagnosis and treatment seem to result in a better prognosis, the disorder is ideally detected before age 2 wk. Copper turnover is low when copper intake is low and high when.
Studies have shown that copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase ccs could be a promising biomarker for assessing cu status. Symptoms are reversible or improve with supplements of. The most frequent clinical manifestations of copper deficiency are anemia, neutropenia, and bone abnormalities. Copper deficiency symptoms copper deficiency diseases. Reports of copperdeficiency in grazing livestock followed, further substantiating the essentiality of copper neal. Copper deficiency may be one of the many causes of fatigue and weakness. There have been only three clinical reports to date of zincinduced copper deficiency in hu. Pdf acquired copper deficiency has been recognised as a rare cause of anaemia and. The patient will have to undergo a bone marrow biopsy and copper serum test to properly diagnose copper deficiency and tailor a treatment plan based on the needs of the individual. Copper is largely absorbed in the stomach and proximal small intestine.
Diets in western countries provide copper below or in the low range of the estimated safe and adequate daily dietary intake. Boron, copper, and molybdenum 2 borax is commonly used to treat bdeficient citrus. Download fulltext pdf download fulltext pdf copper in plants article pdf available in brazilian journal of plant physiology 171 march 2005 with 5,060 reads. It is a trace element required by all body tissue for the metabolic function. Clinical manifestations of nutritional copper deficiency in infants and. Although the amount of copper found in the human body 50120 milligrams would fit on the head of a pin, this tiny quantity is essential.
The high prevalence of digestive disorders, and widespread use of drugs and supplements that deplete. Motor neuron disease associated with copper deficiency. This is also why copper deficiency can cause anemia and low levels of white blood cells that fight infection. The neurologic manifestations of copper deficiency are usually, but not always, accompanied by the. Zinc deficiency, like chronic copper overdosage, leads to enhanced liver microsomal lipid peroxidation in rats sullivan et al.
Thus, there is a critical need for a more sensitive and specifi c biomarker to assess cu defi ciency and changes in humans. Copper function and health benefits cu is an important cofactor in several biochemical and enzymatic processes necessary for the function of the body. The symptoms associated with copper deficiency include the following. Although clinically defined copper deficiency in humans is rare, it has been. In adults, copper deficiency can adversely affect cholesterol and glucose metabolism, thus acting as a vascular risk factor 34, 35. This can cause iron deficiency anemia, a condition in which the body is unable to carry enough oxygen to its tissues. The literature on the neurological manifestations of acquired copper deficiency in human adults is limited, 26 although the hematologic manifestations are well described. While copper is a potential inducer of lipid peroxidation, zinc inhibits. Limitation in the activity of cuproenzymes can explain the pleiotropic effect of copper deficiency. Table 1 lists the major copperrequiring enzymes in the body, 1,2 and fig.
Impact of copper deficiency in humans prohaska 2014. In humans, gastrointestinal absorption of copper appears to take place in the stomach and proximal duodenum, 5 and copper deficiency can occur after gastrectomy or with prolonged enteral or parenteral feeding without copper supplementation. Copper deficiency myelopathy neurology jama neurology. Considerations in the copper deficient patient patients at. Systemic copper deficiency in humans can result from ineffective absorption. Copper deficiency, familial benign genetic and rare. Without copper to convert the iron to a usable form, it lodges in soft tissues. Well also tell you the best food sources for copper. Request pdf motor neuron disease associated with copper deficiency copper deficiency in humans is a rare cause of myeloneuropathy that usually presents with a spastic ataxic gait. Copper deficiency in ruminants is known to cause a progressive ataxic myelopathy swayback. Many times, copper deficiency is the result of stomach surgery that can affect absorption. Copper, an essential mineral, is naturally present in some foods and is available as a dietary supplement. Copper supplementation in patients with acquired copper deficiency rapidly reverses myelodysplasia and also arrests further neurologic deterioration.
463 114 1359 993 500 407 595 1155 1408 398 57 258 1442 1136 201 638 1047 721 1023 644 489 223 168 12 11 76 1011 427 1296 693 406 1068 736 768 528 1415 574 1245 1340 1272 1024 1217 228 185 114 150 77 8 718 472 1304