Copper Deficiency in the Developing Rat Brain: A Possible Model for Menkes’ Steely‐hair Disease

In comparison to controls, copper‐deficient suckling rats showed an appreciable decrease in body growth, a slight decrease in whole brain and cerebellar growth, and a highly significant decrease in myelination based on the activity of cerebellar 2′,3′‐cyclic nucleotide 3′‐phosphohydrolase—a myelin enriched protein. Specific effects of a fivefold reduction in the copper content of brain were seen in a drastic decrease in cerebellar cytochrome c oxidase and smaller but significant drops in cerebellar super‐oxide dismutase and brain norepinephrine concn. These observations are discussed with respect to the neuropathology and biochemistry of Menkes’ steely‐hair disease, a sex‐linked recessive disorder in humans characterized by copper deficiency.