Since 1984 international studies on Alzheimer’s disease have shown a correlation between the presence of excess copper and the possibility of developing the disease.

Today a test has been developed, named C4D, that is capable of measuring “free” copper that is in the blood.

To date more than 700 scientific papers demonstrate that “free” copper is inherently toxic: it easily exceeds the blood brain barrier (the filter that protects the brain from pathogens circulating in the blood) up to interacting with other toxic factors, such as the substance Beta- amyloid, whose clusters form insoluble plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Under normal circumstances the beta-amyloid peptide is removed from the brain by another protein, LRP1, which secures and expels it by transporting it through blood vessels. The copper that has been accumulated interrupts the function of the protein LRP1 through a process of oxidation, which in turn inhibits the removal of beta-amyloid from the brain. The metabolic disorder of copper is already evident in people with mild cognitive impairment and among them; those who have free copper values greater than 1.9 mM have a chance of developing dementia 3 times higher than in subjects with mild cognitive impairment with free copper levels less than 1.9 mM.

The marker when detected early allows for the evaluation of this risk factor which is modifiable and therefore provides the opportunity to intervene by means of one’s diet or by taking zinc supplements, with a good chance of prolonging the period of disease flare or to avoid it completely.