Cobalt and the Heart
Authors: CARL S. ALEXANDER
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1969)

Editorials1 February 1969Cobalt and the HeartCARL S. ALEXANDER, M.D.CARL S. ALEXANDER, M.D.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-70-2-411 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptIn late 1963 or early 1964 certain brewers in Quebec, Canada, and the United States began adding cobalt to beer in order to stabilize the foam. Within months an epidemic form of fulminating cardiomyopathy recognizably distinct from alcoholic cardiomyopathy and beriberi occurred in Quebec City, Canada (1). Later the syndrome was identified at the Veterans Hospitals in Omaha, Nebr. (2) and Minneapolis, Minn. (3) and in Leuven, Belgium (4). It is impossible to estimate the total number of cases that occurred around the world, but some idea might be gained from the knowledge that about 25% of all the beer...References1. Various authors: Quebec beer-drinkers' cardiomyopathy. Canad. Med. Ass. J. 97: 881, 1967. MedlineGoogle Scholar2. MCDERMOTT PH, DELANEY RL, EGAN JD, and SULLIVAN JF: Myocardosis and cardiac failure in men. JAMA 198: 253, 1966. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. ALEXANDER CS: The syndrome of cobalt-beer cardiomyopathy including ultrastructural changes on biopsy (abstract). Proc. Cent. Soc. Clin. Res. 41: 16, 1968. Google Scholar4. KESTELOOT H, ROELANDT J, WILLEMS J, CLAES JH, and JOOSSENS JV: An enquiry into the role of cobalt in the heart disease of chronic beer drinkers. Circulation 37: 854, 1968. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. SULLIVAN JF, GEORGE R, BLUVAS R, and EGAN JD: Myocardiopathy of beer drinkers. Ann. Intern. Med. 70: 277, 1969. LinkGoogle Scholar6. SULLIVAN J, PARKER M, and CARSON SB: Tissue cobalt content in beer drinkers' myocardiopathy. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 71: 893, 1968. MedlineGoogle Scholar7. WENDT VE, WU C, BALCON R, DOTY D, and BING RJ: Hemodynamic and metabolic effects of chronic alcoholism in man. Amer. J. Cardiol. 15: 175, 1965. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. HALL JL and SMITH EB: Cobalt heart disease. An electron microscopic and histochemical study in the rabbit. Arch. Path. (Chicago) 86: 403, 1968. Google Scholar9. MEESSEN H: Morphological changes in the development of cardiac insufficiency. Presented at the Fifth European Congress of Cardiology, Sept. 13, 1968 in Athens, Greece. Google Scholar10. FERRANS VJ, HIBBS RG, and WEILBAECHER DG: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy: a histochemical and electron microscopic study. Amer. J. Cardiol. 13: 106, 1964. CrossrefGoogle Scholar11. ALEXANDER CS: Idiopathic heart disease. II. Electron microscopic examination of myocardial biopsy specimens in alcoholic heart disease. Amer. J. Med. 41: 213, 1966. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12. WEBB M: The biological action of cobalt and other metals. III. Chelation of cations by dihydrolipoic acid. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 65: 47, 1962. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. WIBERG GS, MUNRO IC, and MORRISON AB: Effect of cobalt ions on myocardial metabolism. Canad. J. Biochem. 45: 1219, 1967. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. HOLLY RG: Studies on iron and cobalt metabolism. JAMA 158: 1349, 1955. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar15. Final Report of the Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into Arsenical Poisoning from the Consumption of Beer and Other Articles of Food or Drink, Part I, Wyman and Sons, Ltd., London, 1903. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: CARL S. ALEXANDER, M.D.Affiliations: Department of Medicine University of Minnesota and Veterans Administration Hospital Minneapolis, Minn. 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