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Causes of copper deficiency in the blood
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Insufficient copper intake in children underlies 3 clinical syndromes.
- Anemia (in infants fed mainly dry or fresh cow's milk), anorexia and low copper levels in the blood.
- Neutropenia, chronic or intermittent diarrhea, decreased copper concentration and ceruloplasmin activity in the blood, impaired bone calcification, anemia (due to impaired iron utilization by ferritin).
- Menkes syndrome (results from a genetic defect in copper absorption).
Metabolic disorders in copper deficiency
| Pathology | Metabolic defect | Enzyme deficiency |
| Achromotrichia | Disruption of melanin synthesis | Tyrosinase |
| Disorders of the formation of the cardiovascular system, skeleton, collagen and elastin | Violation of the formation of "cross-links" of collagen and elastic fibers | Connective tissue amino oxidase (lysyl oxidase) |
| CNS damage | Myelin hypoplasia | Cytochrome C oxidase |
CNS damage |
Impaired synthesis |
Dopamine β-hydroxylase |
The most important diseases, syndromes, signs of deficiency and excess of copper
| Copper deficiency in the body | Excess copper in the body |
Hereditary forms of hypo- and dyscupreosis: Menkes disease (kinky hair disease with severe CNS damage); Marfan syndrome (skeletal abnormalities, elastic and collagen fibers, aortic aneurysms, arachnodactyly, etc.); Wilson-Konovalov disease (brain damage, large-nodular cirrhosis of the liver, hypercupremia); Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hereditary mesenchymal dysplasia associated with lysyl oxidase deficiency). Primary (idiopathic) pulmonary emphysema Copper-deficient collagen and elastopathy (aortopathy, arteriopathy, aneurysm) Copper deficiency diseases of the skeleton and joints Copper deficiency anemia of alimentary origin Copper deficiency states with total parenteral nutrition (anemia) |
Non-specific hypercupremia in acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, rheumatism, bronchial asthma, kidney diseases, liver diseases, myocardial infarction and some malignant neoplasms, blood diseases: leukemia, lymphogranulomatosis, hemochromatosis, major and minor thalassemia, megaloblastic and aplastic anemia Occupational hypercupreosis (copper fever, pneumoconiosis) Copper poisoning Hemodialysis hypercupreosis Use of oral contraceptives, estrogens |
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