Iron and Copper Metabolisms in Hookworm Anemia

The authors studied the iron and copper metabolisms in dogs and patients with hookworm anemia, and obtained the following results. 1) In hookworm anemia, serum iron was low in a parallel correlation with the severity of anemia as other iron deficiency anemias. Hookworm anemia, however, was different from other iron deficiency anemias in that it was accompanied by the reduction of serum copper in severe cases. Thus, Fe/Cu was also lower. 2) In the treatment of hookworm with vermicide, serum iron and copper together with Fe/Cu were restored first and afterwards followed the recovery of anemia. 3) The amount of tissue copper of animals increased in the cases of dog with hookworm anemia and in the cases of rabbit being intravenously injected with serum of dog with hookworm anemia. The increase was obvious in the liver and spleen.