Perspectives in Nutrition The Question of Copper Deficiency in Man

terpret it moderately and present a spectrum of ideas that will serve as a continual stimulation to nutritional research applied to medical problems. T HE existence of copper deficiency in man has been a subject of controversy almost as long as copper has been known to be an essen-tial nutrient. ’ Between 1930 and 1945 inves-tigators devoted themselves almost exclusively to attempts to determine whether iron defi-ciency anemia responded more rapidly to corn-bined iron and copper therapy than to iron therapy alone. The results of these experi-ments were 1 In more recent years, the manifestations of copper deficiency in animals have been defined more clearly; data have been accumulated concerning the metabolism of copper in normal subjects; and technics for the measurement of copper in body fluids and tissues have been improved. It now seems appropriate to ask once more whether or not copper depletion occurs in human subjects. Preliminary to the discussion of this question, the manifestations of copper deficiency in animals will be summarized with particular attention being given to the sequence in which they occur and the conditions under which they are alleviated by the administration of copper. The dietary requirement and intake of copper in adults and infants will be reviewed and the possible mechanisms for the production of hypocupremia discussed. The clinical dis