Studies on Serum Copper During Pregnancy, During the Menstrual Cycle, and After the Administration of Oestrogens

The Copper and Copperoxidase Content of Maternal and Infant Umbilical Arterial and Venous Blood Serum at Delivery

“…Discussion The elevation of the m aternal serum copper in the later part of preg nancy is a well-documented fact [17,23,32,35]. There are m any theories attem pting to explain this rise.…”

“…The elevation of the m aternal scrum copper has been attributed, among other things, to the effect of hormones, estrogens having been found to produce the most consistant rise [9,30,35]. There are a few reports which do not accept the interpretation th at hypercuprem ia and the elevation of copperoxidase are due to an increase of the estro gens in the m aternal blood [4,5,16].…”

Maternal and Fetal Serum Copper Levels at Delivery

“…A remarkable increase is seen in the first trimester and to a smaller degree in the second and third trimesters [4]. V on Studnitz and Berezin [7] explained this elevation of the serum copper level by the increased endogenous oestrogen secretion during pregnancy. This explanation was supported by clinical experiments, which showed that a marked elevation of serum copper and caeruloplasmin levels followed the administration of oestrogens to human subjects [8,9].…”

Nutrition and Pregnancy

“…This rise is due, at least in part, to increasing estrogen levels. Estrogen therapy brings about a rise in serum copper levels of nonpregnant women (Russ and Raymunt, 1956;Von Studnitz and Berezin, 1958). The activity of ceruloplasmin, a copper-containing oxidase, almost doubles by late pregnancy (Hytten and Leitch, 1971).…”