Abstrakt: |
We have already reported the blood iron content of the adult to be an average of 50 mg. per 100 cc. for men and 45 mg. per 100 cc. for women, and the blood copper 0.132 mg. or 132 micrograms per 100 cc. for men and women.1,2In determining the blood iron and copper in various pathological conditions accompanied by anemia, we observed an inverse relationship between the copper and the iron in the blood. As the blood iron fell, the blood copper rose. Hypercupremia was the usual response to hypoferronemia.1,2We have already reported the blood findings in a white woman, age 60, suffering from polycythemia vera.2We now report another case which verifies our first findings. The aim of the treatment in vogue in this condition, which is manifested by an increase in the red cell count beyond the normal, is to cut down the number of red cells to the physiological level. In this type of therapy it is often advisable to diminish the red cell count even below the normal in order to postpone the rapid return of the polycythemic state. The drug used, phenylhydrazine hydrochloride, is a cumulative poison, so that its destructive effect upon the erythrocytes goes on after its discontinuance. A polycythemic individual therefore in the course of the treatment now prevailing may be converted to an anemic individual with a low red cell count. In periods of non-treatment the red cells have a tendency to increase to the polycythemic stage. The periods of treatment alternated by periods of non-treatment offer a chance to study the reciprocal relationship between blood iron and blood copper. |