The neurotoxicity of iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) is ameliorated by copper.

Iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) was given to rats on diets with normal copper levels, 5 ppm, and to rats on diets with high copper levels, 100 ppm. The former developed neurological symptoms, namely choreoathetoid head movements, circling and retropulsion, while the latter only showed vague incoordination. Since rats, raised on a copper deficient diet alone, i.e. 0.9 ppm develop the same symptoms, we assume that IDPN chelates copper. The axons of the motor nerve cells show metachromatic degeneration in the rats given IDPN on a diet with normal copper level, but not in the rats on a high copper level.