Copper Deficiency

Abstract

Editor?Dr Walshe (July/August pages 280-8) suggests that 'a deficiency, or even complete absence [of caeruloplasmin], is not necessarily associated with anaemia or any other disease'. This is not correct. Of the nine patients with complete hereditary caeruloplasmin deficiency so far described [1-4], six have had anaemia (two normal, one result not given), all have had a low serum iron, eight have had a high serum ferritin (one result not given), eight have had increased liver iron (one result not given) and seven have had abnormal CT or MRI scans of