[Hypercupremia: a marker of articular phlogosis?]

Serum copper, iron and ceruloplasmin concentrations were determined in 45 subjects (20 males and 23 females, medium age 50.3, range 25-76) diagnosed as psoriatic arthritis patients, 63 patients (30 males and 33 females, medium age 32.4, range 10-78) with psoriasis, and in 60 blood donors (32 women and 28 men) as reference value group. Mean serum copper, iron and ceruloplasmin were significantly different (p less than .001) in psoriatic arthritis when compared with controls or subjects with psoriasis alone. The number of synovial joints affected was significantly correlated to changes in these serum parameters. Indeed serum copper, iron and ceruloplasmin were found significantly different from normals in the polyarticular subgroup, (p less than .001) while only copper and ceruloplasmin were different in mono-oligoarticular form (respectively p less than .001 and p less than .01). No significant changes were found in the spondiloarticular subgroup. In the polyarticular subgroup a direct correlation was found between another disease activity marker (e.g.ESR) and serum changes in iron, cerulosplasmin and copper (p less than .001).