Copper and ceruloplasmin contents in the blood serum of peripheral and pre-hepatic veins

Abstract

In an attempt to contribute for the unraveling of the problem, the concentrations both of copper and ceruloplasmin have been determined in samples of peripheral and pre-hepatic venous blood from 11 patients submitted to portal decompression. MATERIAL AND METHODSDuring the performance of either porto-caval or spleno-renal shunt in 11 patients with Manson's hepato-splenic schistosomiasis, blood samples from the superior mesenteric and basilic veins were collected. Ceruloplasmin and copper contentswere determined according to Houchin T and a modified Gubler method 3 , respectively. Due care was taken in order to prevent copper contamination of the materials.The results obtained in the samples of peripheral blood, compared to normal values 2 , 4 , showed increased copper contents in 6 cases, while all ceruloplasmin levels fitted in the normal range.In these cases, the increase of the direct reacting copper may be due to the liver damage caused by schistosomiasis.For comparative purposes, the same study was done in a patient with HLD submitted to porto-caval shunt owing to a severe bleeding of esophageal varices.The results were submitted to statistical treatment, by means of the analysis of the individual differences in the copper and ceruloplasmin contents of both blood samples In our material, the differences between the copper and ceruloplasmin contents in the samples of peripheral and pre-hepatic blood were not signifi-