Stability of Copper Histidinate Injection and Histamine Formation in Menkes Disease

Abstract

Menkes disease is characterized by inhibition of the absorption and transport of dietary copper. The Okayama University Medical and Dental School uses L-histidine-copper to treat this disease and in the present study, we examined the stability of the copper histidinate injection solution used for this purpose. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) performed on day 56 following injection revealed that histidine levels had dropped to 90.4%, a non-significant decrease and histamine levels were unchanged. Moreover, atomic absorption spectrophotometry revealed that copper concentrations were not significantly decreased (89.7%) between days 0 and 56. Through visual observation, we noted a gradual increase in floats from day 42 to day 56, leading us to suggest that the use of copper histidinate be limited to 1 month.
The above results should alleviate any concern about histamine-associated adverse effects.