Molybdenum News Center

Tetrathiomolybdate and Wilson’s Disease,2013 - III

Ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (TTM) is an effective treatment for chronic copper poisoning in sheep; it has also been proposed for the treatment of Wilson’s disease in humans. The long-term effects of TTM on five copper-poisoned sheep are reported. The copper-poisoned sheep, after apparently successful treatment with TTM, became infertile and progressively unthrifty and eventually died 2-3 years after treatment.

In the tetrathiomolybdate treated sheep there was minimal liver damage and no thyroid changes. There was no evidence of neuronal damage in any region of the brain. There were regressive pathological changes of the testes or ovaries, the adrenal glands and the pituitaries associated with the elevated levels of molybdenum. Excess of molybdenum was found in the pituitaries, the adrenals and the brains of affected sheep. Evidently molybdenum introduced systemically as TTM was retained within the brain, pituitary and adrenal glands and so was associated with a toxic endocrinopathy.

It is postulated that molybdenum administered as thiomolybdate adversely affects the hypothalamo-adrenohypophyseal system by interfering with trophic hormone release, leading to the cessation of reproductive activity and ultimately the failure of intermediary metabolism. It was proposed that thiomolybdate, directly or indirectly, inhibits the enzyme peptidylglycine á-amidating mono-oxygenase (PAM), an enzyme crucial for the bioactivation of many peptide hormones, including neuropeptides, and a key enzyme in the correct functioning of the neuroendocrine system. PAM is a copper-dependent enzyme. It is found in high concentration in the hypothalamus. Tetrathiomolybdate, in binding to copper in the pituitary or hypothalamus, would make copper unavailable for PAM and thereby inhibit its activity.

More molybdenum product: http://www.molybdenum.com.cn
Tel: 0592-5129696 Fax：0592-5129797
E-mail:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, WML Version: http://m.chinatungsten.com

• < Prev
• Next >