Blood Iron and Copper in Hemochromatosis

Abstract

Hemochromatosis is a rare disease of disturbed iron metabolism usually associated with diabetes and accompanied by cirrhosis of the liver, bronzed pigmentation of the skin, and by the.presence of an iron-containing pigment, hemosiderin, and a non iron-reacting pigment, hemofuscin. in the skin. liver, pancreas and various other organs.Copper has been proposed as an etiological factor in hemochromatosis by Mallory and his coworkers. Mallory, Parker and Nye' announced that it was possible to produce pigmentation and cirrhosis of the liver in rabbits and sheep by the administration of copper salts or metallic copper in powdered form. Mallory' made a careful study of a series of cases of hemochromatosis among human beings. He pointed out 2 definite factors which he believed had a bearing on the production of the disease, one, the excessive indulgence in alcohol, and the other, occupational contact with copper. In some cases both factors operated. Mallory pointed out that samples of alcohol used in the prohibition era were considerably contaminatecl by copper. Mallory and Parker* repeated their experiments on chronic poisoning with copper and again reached the same conclusions, namely, that as a result of repeated injections of copper over a long period of time a form of pigmentation cirrhosis of the liver was produced.

Studies on Copper Metabolism. Vii. Blood Copper in Pregnancy and Various Pathologic States 1

“…The copper content of cord blood when compared with that of maternal blood is distinctly low (4,6,8,9). In hemochromatosis (30), normal values have been reported.…”

Studies on Variations in Serum Copper and Serum Copper Oxidase Activity, Together With Studies on the Copper Content of the Cerebrospinal Fluid, With Particular Reference to the Variations in Multiple Sclerosis

“…Hypercupremia has also been observed in leukemia (Heilmeyer et al, 1941;Locke ,et al, 1932;Sachs et al, 1935;Cartwright ef al., 1948). Hodgkin's disease , aplastic anemia (Heilmeyer et al, 1941 ;CartWright let al, 1948), iron deficiency anemia (Heilmeyer et al, 1941;Sachs et al, 1935; Cartwright e f al., 1948;Sachs 1936), pernicious anemia (Heilmeyer et al, 1941;Locke et al, 1932;Sachs et al, 1935;Cartwrighf et al, 1948), sickle cell anemia (Sachs et al, 1935), thalassemia , polycythemia Vera (Sachs .et al, 1935), purpura (Sachs et ,al., 1935), Banti's syndrome (Sachs .et al, 1935;Cartwrighf let al, 1948), hepatolenticular degeneration (Cumings, 1951) and various other types of liver disease (Heilmeyer .et al, 1941 ;Locke et al, 1932;Carfwright et al, 1948), Addison's disease (Locke et al, 1932;Sachs et al, 1937), diabetes (Locke et al, 1932), the "collagen diseases" (Heilmeyer .et al, 1941 ;Sachs et al, 1935; Cartwrighf e f al., 1948), carcinoma of various types (Heilmeyer et al, 1941;Locke et al, 1932;Sachs et al, 19351, hyperthyroidism (Heilmeyer et al, 1941;Locke et al, 1932;A. L. Nielsen, 1944), allergic reactions (Heilmeyer et al, 1941), malaria (Heilmeyer et al, 1941;Sachs et al, 1935), schizophrenia and in various disorders of the central nervous system…”