Serum Copper in Myocardial Infarction
Suarez, R.M.; Suarez, R.M.; Garciapalmiere, M.R.
Boletin de la Asociacion Medica de Puerto Rico 57: 316-321
1965
ISSN/ISBN: 0004-4849 PMID: 14330348 Document Number: 700107
In 50 cases of myocardial infarction admitted to the hospital on the first day of the disease serum copper level was determined 8 times (on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th, 33rd and 40th day of the disease). Simultaneously determinations were performed of GOT, GPT and aldolase activity, ESR, white blood cell count and of the electrophoretic pattern of blood proteins. It was found that in the acute phase of myocardial infraction serum copper level increased in a statistically highly significant degree in all cases. This increase was greatest between the 5th and the 12th day of the disease. The degree of the rise in the copper level was the more increased the more extensive was the myocardial necrosis and the more intense were the systemic disturbances (fever, leucocytosis, ESR). Increase of serum copper level is probably an evidence of a non-specific reaction of the organism to a pathological stimulus in form of myocardial infarction. This is evidenced by the parallelism between the degree of this increase and the intensity of systemic manifestations (fever, leucocytosis, ESR) and by presence of similar changes of copper in other pathological conditions.