Copper/magnetic/ionized bracelets: do they really work, and how?

...Studies have shown that some people with arthritis seem to have difficulty metabolizing copper from the food they eat, leading to increased pain. That observation led Helmar Dollwet, Ph.D., of the University of Akron to theorize that arthritis sufferers may need to get their copper from another source. "The dissolved copper from [a copper] bracelet bypasses the oral route by entering the body through the the skin," he wrote in his book, The Copper Bracelet and Arthritis. Dr. Dollwet thought this might be the only way arthritics ever receive the copper their bodies need-copper that studies have shown can indeed relieve pain.

Physicians remain somewhat skeptical about bracelets but don't entirely dismiss them, either. "I see people wearing copper bracelets, and they're wearing them because it helps them," says Elson Haas, M.D. "I think copper may have a role. It's possible that a copper deficiency does increase joint inflammation, and it doesn't seem that supplementing copper in the diet has the same effect as wearing it...

Published in: Clinical Toxicology, Volume 26, Issue 5 & 6 October 1988 , pages 371 - 380

An Unusual Skin Exposure to Copper; Clinical and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation
...It is suggested that copper may be absorbed from the skin even if it is in the metal form.

Copper biochemistry and molecular biology
In general, copper does not enter vertebrates through the skin, unless, for example, it is applied in high concentrations in the form of specific ointments or if copper bracelets are worn ( 1 , 8, 9). Only microgram amounts of copper per day are thought to be absorbed by this route under optimal conditions, but this absorption can become significant. Walker (9) reported that up to 13 mg can be delivered per month, and that this happens through the formation of glycine-copper complexes dissolved in sweat...

An investigation of the therapeutic value of the 'copper bracelet'-dermal assimilation of copper in arthritic/rheumatoid conditions.

Abstract
From over 300 arthritis sufferers, half of whom previously wore 'copper bracelets', three treatment-group-subjects were randomly allocated for a psychological study. This involved wearing 'copper bracelets' and placebo bracelets (amodised aluminum resembling copper) alternately. These groups, as also a control group, answered questionnaires. The copper bracelets were weighed before and after use. Preliminary results show that, to a significant number of subjects, the wearing of the 'copper bracelet' appeared to have some therapeutic value. A study of the components of sweat and the solubility of copper in sweat was carried out. In five sweat samples, the copper concentration was of the order 2 x 10(-5) M and after equilibrating with copper turnings at room temperature for 24 hours the samples turned blue in colour and contained approximately 2 x 10(-3) M copper. The permeability of skin to copper containing solutions has also been discussed. It has also been shown that the wearing of a 'copper bracelet' results in a weight loss in excess of the body's total burden of copper (100-150 mg). A pair of copper bracelets lost 80 mg in 50 days when worn around the ankles and a copper bracelet worn around the wrist also lost about 90 mg in that time.

TRACE ELEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF RHEUMATIC CONDITIONS

Elliot D. Rosenstein, MDab, Jacques R. Caldwell, MDcd

The oft-quoted Ebers papyrus, a therapeutic compendium from the eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (about 1500 bc), is one of the first known citations of the use of trace elements, particularly various metallic compounds, for relief of musculoskeletal disorders. Verdigris (basic copper acetate), blue vitriol (copper(II) sulfate), and pulverized metallic copper were recommended as topical therapies for rheumatic pains.30 The role of these trace elements in chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is of great interest because many of them are co-factors in metabolic processes involving collagen and bone or immune system function. Studies of the nutritional status of patients with active RA frequently demonstrate deficiencies in these “micronutrients, ” in particular various metallic elements, including copper, zinc, selenium, and magnesium. The increase in levels of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6 seen in the setting of active RA may affect the availability of these elements by inducing the production of metal-binding proteins, metallothioneins, in the liver or intestine.32 The increased metallothionein production may result in sequestration of these metal ions so that they are unavailable to peripheral tissues. In peripheral tissues, including within inflammatory cells, many of these trace metallic elements are incorporated into antioxidant enzymes. Antioxidant metalloenzymes interfere with the production of free radicals by inactivating reactive oxygen molecules in tissues and immune cells. Although the physiologic role for these trace elements may be reasonably well substantiated, their therapeutic usefulness is less compelling...

Skin Penetration by Metal Compounds with Special Reference to Copper

Abstract
The process of diffusion into and across the different structures of the skin by chemicals is reviewed, with particular attention given to copper compounds. The scarce data available from the literature indicate that, in contact with the skin, metallic copper will oxidize, and the compounds resulting will penetrate it. Results from our lab confirm that copper compounds formed with skin exudates penetrate the human stratum corneum in a time-dependent fashion. The only quantitative diffusion rates for copper compounds given in the literature so far refer to experiments performed on the cat in vitro and in vivo. Transformation of data from that study, based on certain assumptions, lead to estimated Kp values of 10-6 to 10-5 cm/h for the copper salts tested, values that lie at the lower end of skin diffusivity rates measured for transition metal salts.

Permeability coefficients for aqueous copper sulfate and acetate through human epidermis in vitro measured in our laboratory are of the order of 10-6 cm/h. For copper compounds formulated in combination with zinc compounds for therapeutic purposes, applied on dermatomed human skin in vitro in various vehicles, the apparent penetration coefficients Kp were in the range of 3.2 10-6 and 1.6 10-5 cm/h.

I just want to be clear here. We are talking about a 1" wide for maximun skin contact,100% pure, copper bracelet. No magnets, no 'ionization'... there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support *those* claims. My tendonitis starts to flare up and I wear my bracelet for a few days and the pain is significantly diminished. There is no possibility of 'letting it rest' to heal. My job is very physical and I can't NOT use my right arm. I can usually maintain the low level of pain by wearing the bracelet to bed at night only. If I stop wearing the bracelet, the tendonitis returns.

Call me a whacko if you wish. I've been called much worse by people a lot more cool than you science geeks!!!

That's all fine, but there is a potentially active role for absorbed copper.

Copper is not absorbed through the skin to any meaningful extent, especially not metallic copper. And you should be glad that it isn't. It's a quite toxic metal in anything above trace concentrations.

For that reason, copper deficiency is extremely rare. And to the extent that it exists, (e.g. Menke's disease) it is not due to deficient copper uptake, but rather the over-expression of copper-binding proteins, which lead to copper accumulation in certain cells, and deficiencies elsewhere. I.e. bad copper distribution.

In general, copper does not enter vertebrates through the skin, unless, for example, it is applied in high concentrations in the form of specific ointments or if copper bracelets are worn ( 1 , 8, 9). Only microgram amounts of copper per day are thought to be absorbed by this route under optimal conditions, but this absorption can become significant. Walker (9) reported that up to 13 mg can be delivered per month, and that this happens through the formation of glycine-copper complexes dissolved in sweat...

It would be nice if we could subject you to a double-blind test, Tsu. Make several identical bracelets, one with solid Cu, one with Cu but with impurities, one with only Cu coating, one that LOOKS like Cu but really of a different metal, etc... Each day, Ivan will receive a bracelet from someone, and he will not know which is which. He will then give it to you to wear. You will keep a record on the level of your pain. We will do this for a period of many days (2 months?).

If you absorbed enough copper from these things to have a medical effect then shouldn't there be doze limits, FDA regs and they only be available on prescription. What if somebody without copper deficiency wore one, or somebody wore two?

but it does seem funny to think about: Copper bracelets as a controlled substance? Should it be a felony or misdemeanor to wear one? Tsu wears one on each wrist - twenty years in the slammer, I say! Copper artisans, beware, we're on to your little game as well.

I know there is no way she will agree to this over the summer due to gardening demands and the like.

Actually, this would be a perfect time. Nothing like testing the efficacy of a thing by putting it under load.

While she has the bona fide bracelet on, no harm done. Switch it out with the fake for a few weeks and - if the effect is real - she'll be pretty quick to give you an unambiguous call on it.