Copper and Iron in Human Blood

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

“…These observations have since been confirmed by many investigators (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Hypercupremia has also been observed in leukemia (5,7,9,16), Hodgkin's disease (16), aplastic anemia (5,16), iron deficiency anemia (5,9,16,20), pernicious anemia (5,7,9,16), sickle cell anemia (9), thalassemia (16), polycythemia vera (9), purpura (9), Banti's syndrome (9,16), hepatolenticular degeneration (21) and various other types of liver disease (5,7,16), Addison's disease (7,22), diabetes (7), the "collagen diseases" (5,9,16), carcinoma of various types (5,7,9), hyperthyroidism …”

“…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.…”

Observations on the mechanism of absorption of copper by the small intestine

“…Though active transport in the sense of movement against a gradient was not demonstrable under our conditions, the mechanism appears to be dependent on metabolic energy. Our results suggest that in the hamster the site of maximum absorptive ability for copper is in the lower small intestine, whereas Sachs, Levine, Hill & Hughes (1943) stated that copper absorption in dogs took place only from the upper small intestine, and the rapidity of copper absorption in man also suggests absorption from the upper part of the small intestine. This might be due to species differences silch as those observed in the site of absorption of calcium (Schacter et al 1960), but it should also be borne in mind that the site of maximum absorptive ability for a substance is not necessarily the main site of absorption in the intact animal (Crampton & Matthews, 1964).…”

A Perspective on Copper and Liver Disease in the Dog

“…13,42,43 Limited studies in dogs have shown that the absorption of copper occurs from the upper small intestine. 53 The first level of control for copper metabolism occurs in the gastrointestinal tract. Although the mechanisms are largely unknown, in humans and rats, individuals receiving copper-deficient diets will absorb and retain a higher percentage of the oral intake than individuals on replete and high-copper diets.…”