Although copper is an essential trace element necessary for the survival of organisms ranging from bacteria to mammals, it is also highly toxic and must be absorbed by the body in precisely orchestrated biological processes. In Handbook of Copper Pharmacology and Toxicology, Edward J. Massaro and a panel of leading biomedical researchers and clinical practitioners review, in-depth, the status of our current knowledge concerning the biochemistry of copper in general, and its role in health and disease in particular. Drawing on the wealth of new information emerging from the molecular biology revolution, these experts survey the most important research areas of copper pharmacology and toxicology, including copper proteins and transport, copper toxicity and therapeutics, and copper metabolism and homeostasis. They also discuss the molecular pathogenesis of copper in a variety of metabolic diseases-Menkes and Wilson’s diseases and occipital horn syndrome-as well as the role of copper in Parkinson’s disease, prion disease, familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Alzheimer’s disease. The elucidation of the precise mechanisms of copper trafficking, metabolism, and homeostasis will be of considerable importance in understanding the pathophysiology and treatment of such diseases.
Comprehensive and timely, the Handbook of Copper Pharmacology and Toxicology authoritatively provides researchers with all the up-to-date information needed to work productively in copper biology today.