Fetal intestinal volvulus without malrotation is a rare, life-threatening disease. Left untreated, hemorrhage from necrotic bowel tissue will lead to severe fetal anemia and even intrauterine death. We encountered a case of fetal intestinal volvulus causing severe anemia, which was diagnosed postnatally and successfully treated with surgical intervention.

Menkes disease (MD), an X-linked recessive disorder of copper metabolism caused by mutations in the copper-transporting ATP7A gene, results in growth failure and severe neurodegeneration in early childhood. Subcutaneous copper-histidine injection is the standard treatment for MD, but it has limited clinical efficacy. Furthermore, long-term copper injection causes excess copper accumulation in the kidneys, resulting in renal dysfunction. To attempt to resolve this issue, we used PET imaging with 64 Cu to investigate the effects of disulfiram on copper biodistribution in living mice serving as an animal model for MD (MD model mice). Methods: Macular mice were used as MD model mice, and C3H/He mice were used as wild-type mice. Mice were pretreated with 2 types of chelators (disulfiram, a lipophilic chelator, and D-penicillamine, a hydrophilic chelator) 30 min before 64 CuCl 2 injection. After 64 CuCl 2 injection, emission scans covering the whole body were performed for 4 h. After the PET scans, the brain and kidneys were analyzed for radioactivity with γ counting and autoradiography. Results: After copper injection alone, marked accumulation of radioactivity ( 64 Cu) in the liver was demonstrated in wild-type mice, whereas in MD model mice, copper was preferentially accumulated in the kidneys (25.56 ± 3.01 percentage injected dose per gram [%ID/g]) and was detected to a lesser extent in the liver (13.83 ± 0.26 %ID/g) and brain (0.96 ± 0.08 %ID/g). Copper injection with disulfiram reduced excess copper accumulation in the kidneys (14.54 ± 2.68 %ID/g) and increased copper transport into the liver (29.42 ± 0.98 %ID/g) and brain (5.12 ± 0.95 %ID/g) of MD model mice. Copper injection with D-penicillamine enhanced urinary copper excretion and reduced copper accumulation in most organs in both mouse groups. Autoradiography demonstrated that disulfiram pretreatment induced copper transport into the brain parenchyma and reduced copper accumulation in the renal medulla. Conclusion: PET studies with 64 Cu revealed that disulfiram had significant effects on the copper biodistribution of MD. Disulfiram increased copper transport into the brain and reduced copper uptake in the kidneys of MD model mice. The application of 64 Cu PET for the treatment of MD and other copperrelated disorders may be useful in clinical settings.