Cardiomyopathy of copper deficiency: effect of vitamin E supplementation.

The present study was undertaken to determine whether the intraperitoneal injection of vitamin E to copper-(Cu) deficient rats fed fructose will protect the animals against the severity of Cu deficiency. Cu-deficient and adequate rats were fed a diet containing 62% carbohydrate as fructose. Half the Cu-deficient rats fed fructose were injected daily with vitamin E. Vitamin E treated rats were not protected against the lethal consequences of the interaction between Cu and fructose. These data provide evidence that the cardiomyopathy of Cu deficiency in rats consuming a fructose-based diet cannot be ameliorated by vitamin E supplementation.