Decreased serum concentration of copper and zinc in diarrheic people (Kilic et al., 2003; Arora et al., 2006) were congruent to
hypocupremia of present study in diarrheic foals.
Deficiency of copper includes many symptoms such as abnormal cardiac function, increased plasma cholesterol, decreased superoxide dismutase, neutropenia, leukopenia, anemia,
hypocupremia and weakened iron mobilization [99].
The plasma copper concentration was under the detectable limit of 0.1 pprn (reference interval, 0.07-0.33 ppm), (4) and potential
hypocupremia was considered.
Her zinc levels have returned to normal, but
hypocupremia persists, although copper levels have improved.
Copper deficiency (
hypocupremia) and pancytopenia late after gastric bypass surgery.
These clinical cases were tentatively diagnosed as leukoderma and confirmed on basis of
hypocupremia, low serum ceruloplasmin and absence of melanocytes and melanophores in epidermis on histopathological examination.
Zinc toxicity due to acute or chronic ingestion of high quantities of zinc supplements can also occur and lead to impaired immune response,
hypocupremia, microcytosis, and neutropenia.
In the presence of a normal anatomy, a second well-described mechanism of copper malabsorption relates to excess zinc intake causing a secondary
hypocupremia. Cytosolic zinc within enterocytes causes upregulation of metallothioneins, which are chelators that normally serve to scavenge excess copper but that lead to intracellular copper sequestration and functional malabsorption when overproduced (9), with copper-sequestering enterocytes eventually sloughing off.
Symptoms of copper deficiency may include anemia, neutropenia, hypoproteinemia,
hypocupremia, diarrhea, and bone changes (osteopenia and metaphyseal spurs).
Four patients presented with various neurologic abnormalities along with
hypocupremia and hyperzincemia.
