Copper in health test tubes that damaged DNA in the cells of a Menkes patient can be repaired. In time, the procedures needed to repair damaged genes in the human body may be found. Wilson's disease is a rare autosomal (chromosome 13) recessive genetic disorder of copper transport that causes an excess of copper to build up in the liver. This results in liver toxicity, among other symptoms. The disease is now treatable. Wilson's disease is produced by mutational defects of a protein that transports copper from the liver to the bile for excretion. The disease involves poor incorporation of copper into ceruloplasmin
Mechanism of anoxic depolarization in the brain infarction, the release of glutamate and aspartate into the extracellular space causes an uncontrollable intracellular mobilization of Ca, mainly through the NMDA receptors. This is a critical stage in the development of neuronal damage, because it is the Ca overload that gives rise to several downstream cascades of events that lead to necrotic neuronal death, or to apoptosis, including free radical and nitric oxide productions that cause damage to the membrane. Another cytotoxic event that follows anoxic depolarization is lactate accumulation and acidosis as a result of glycolysis, which causes damage to the mitochondria. Ischemic insult also causes blood-brain barrier