Copper pipes may cause heart disease, Alzheimer's

London, Jan 22 (ANI): Copper pipes can cause Alzheimer's disease and heart disease in people over 50, a new study has warned.

In the study, researchers have suggested that people should remove old copper pipes from their homes or install special filters because the metal builds up in bodies and causes serious health problems.

They have warned that tiny traces of copper from pipes mix with tap water and are then consumed by people, reports The Telegraph.he new report published in the Chemical Research in Toxicology journal said that scientific evidence links high levels of copper and iron to Alzheimer's disease, heart disease and a range of age-related disorders.r George Brewer, lead researcher, said the study in mice had wide ranging implications for health authorities.

"Their toxicities are so general in the population that they are a looming public health problem in diseases of ageing and in the ageing process itself," he said.

But Mr Brewer said: "Both contribute to the production of excess damaging oxidant radicals.

"Evolution has kept stores of copper and iron in excess during the reproductive years because they are so vital to life.

"But the oxidant damage from these excess stores of metals builds up as we age, and natural selection ceases to act after about age 50 since diseases after that do not contribute to reproductive fitness." (ANI)