The Role of Copper in Human Diet and Risk of Dementia

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most devastating epidemics of the twenty-first century, and no cure is currently available. One third of all AD cases can be attributed to modifiable risk factors (such as physical inactivity, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity in middle age). Accordingly, seven nutritional and lifestyle guidelines for the prevention of AD have been proposed to the public. The present review addresses the fifth guideline, which focuses on the significance of the breakdown of copper homeostasis as a risk factor for AD. Dietary copper in the human diet, the physiological pathway of copper in the body, copper metabolic abnormalities in AD (as revealed by clinical studies and large population datasets), and the onset of copper metabolic abnormalities (as a result of the interplay between copper intake and genetic defects linked primarily to the ATP7B gene) are reported herein. Data are discussed in the framework of evidence-based medicine to guide decision-making in AD clinical practice and prevention towards the adoption of an adequate dietary copper regimen in susceptible individuals.