Diethyldithiocarbamate and brain copper.

To test the hypothesis that the increase of copper concentration in brain after diethyldithiocarbamate (DEDTC) administration was due to the formation of a DEDTC-copper complex, able to cross the blood-brain barrier, we compared in rats the effects on brain copper of DEDTC given alone, in combination with copper or as a copper-DEDTC complex. The daily administration for three weeks of DEDTC alone, of DEDTC with copper and DEDTC-copper complex gave the same increase of the level of copper in brain. The time course effects of a single administration of DEDTC and of the DEDTC-copper complex were approximately the same: after a delay of about 24 h, there was an increase in brain copper concentrations which persisted for at least three days