Description of the blood Analysis:

Ceruloplasmin is a ferroxidase enzyme and the primary copper-carrying protein in the blood. It contains about 95% of the copper found in your plasma. Beyond just transporting copper, it plays a vital role in iron metabolism by helping convert iron into a form that can be loaded onto transferrin for transport. It is produced by the liver and also acts as an “acute-phase reactant,” meaning levels rise during inflammation.

What Does the Analysis Represent?

• Goal: To evaluate copper metabolism and screen for disorders related to copper storage or deficiency.
• Main Application: Diagnosing Wilson’s disease (a rare genetic disorder where copper builds up in the brain and liver) and investigating unexplained neurological symptoms or liver disease.
• Biological Process: It reflects the liver’s ability to process copper and incorporate it into proteins. If the liver cannot do this, free copper builds up in tissues, causing toxic damage.

Recommendations for the Test (General)

• Fasting: Recommended. Fasting for 8–12 hours provides a cleaner sample, though some labs accept non-fasted samples.
• Stable Health: Because it rises during inflammation, it is best to take this test when you do not have an active infection or fever to get an accurate baseline.
• Medications: Estrogen-containing medications (like birth control pills) can significantly increase ceruloplasmin levels.
• Material: Venous blood (serum).

What Can Affect the Results?

• Pregnancy: Ceruloplasmin levels naturally double or triple during pregnancy.
• Inflammation/Infection: As an acute-phase reactant, levels will be high if you are currently sick or have a chronic inflammatory condition (like rheumatoid arthritis).
• Liver Disease: Severe liver damage (cirrhosis or hepatitis) can lower production, even if the patient doesn’t have Wilson’s disease.
• Nutrition: Severe malnutrition or copper deficiency can lead to low levels.

When to Take the Test?

• Unexplained Liver Issues: Jaundice, fatigue, or abdominal swelling, especially in younger individuals.
• Neurological Symptoms: Unexplained tremors, difficulty walking, speech problems, or personality changes.
• Eye Signs: The appearance of a “Kayser-Fleischer ring” (a brownish-gold ring around the cornea of the eye).
• Anemia: If a person has iron-deficiency anemia that does not respond to iron supplements (as copper is needed for iron transport).

How to Interpret the Results?

Important: Laboratory values must be interpreted exclusively by a licensed medical professional. Low Levels: A primary indicator used by doctors to screen for Wilson’s Disease. High Levels: Often seen as a reaction to systemic inflammation or changes in estrogen levels.

Possible Further Investigations

• 24-Hour Urine Copper: Often the next step if ceruloplasmin is low; patients with Wilson’s disease will show very high copper levels in their urine.
• Serum Copper: To see the total amount of copper in the blood.
• Liver Biopsy: The “gold standard” to measure actual copper concentration in liver tissue.
• Slit-lamp Eye Exam: To look for the diagnostic Kayser-Fleischer rings.

When Does the Next Step Make Sense? 

The next step is critical if ceruloplasmin is low and you have liver or neurological symptoms. Wilson’s disease is treatable if caught early, but it can be fatal if the copper buildup is allowed to damage the brain and liver over many years. Because ceruloplasmin is an “acute-phase reactant,” a high result should always be interpreted alongside a CRP test to see if inflammation is masking an underlying issue.

👉 If necessary, you can discuss the results of the analysis with a specialist, such as a Neurologist (Doctors – TAMC).