12/11/2020
COPPER, INFLAMMATION AND ARTHRITIS
by A.S. Gissen
As long ago as 1000 B.C., foods high in copper and copper bracelets were thought to be beneficial in treating arthritic conditions.
In 1945, patients with rheumatoid arthritis were shown to exhibit higher than normal serum copper levels.
Indeed, the copper content of serum is known to be elevated above normal values in various inflammatory diseases in man and laboratory animals.
Despite this seeming contradiction, copper complexes were successfully used from the 1940's to 1970's in the treatment of numerous conditions characterized by arthritic changes and inflammation
Even the time-tested copper bracelet was eventually shown to be an effective anti-inflammatory, due to the absorption of copper through the skin.
However, the development of anti-inflammatory steroids and aspirin-like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs quickly replaced copper compounds in the treatment of these conditions.
Numerous researchers have examined the paradoxical role of copper in the process of inflammation, and they have determined that the increase in serum copper is a physiological response to inflammation, rather than a promoter of it.
In fact, the main copper containing enzyme, ceruloplasmin, is significantly elevated in inflammatory conditions and has anti -inflammatory activity.
Additionally, it has been shown that copper deficiency increases the severity of experimentally-induced inflammation, and that dietary copper must be increased to maintain adequate copper status of animals in an inflammatory state.
With the knowledge that many copper complexes possess anti-inflammatory activity, and the finding that these copper complexes almost always have significantly stronger activity than their parent compounds, it has been hypothesized that the active form of many popular anti-inflammatory drugs are their copper chelates.
Interest in copper complexes as anti-inflammatory drugs and antiarthritics is evidenced by the large number of reviews and symposia proceedings published in recent years.
The sum of this research has shown that copper chelates of most anti-inflammatory compounds, as well as many other compounds, have strong anti-inflammatory activity in numerous models of inflammation. Also, these copper chelates have lower toxicity and stronger anti -inflammatory activity than their parent compounds.
No information in this article should be taken as a recommendation. If you have any questions about the relationship between copper and your health, seek the advice of a qualified holistic physician.
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Follow the link to find all relevant references
If you enjoyed reading the above post you will also be very interested in the rest of the news about copper.
It looks like that our doctors are once again not being given the correct information about the true benefits of copper
What you are about to read when you follow this link may come as a shock not only to you but also to doctors.
Copper: The Maligned Mineral
http://www.unveilingthem.com/CopperTheMalignedMineral.htm
