[Wilson's disease: a review apropos of a clinical experience in 16 patients]

Rev Med Chil. 1995 Sep;123(9):1098-107.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

Wilson's Disease is an inherited disorder of copper metabolism. We report 16 patients (6 males) with the disease; 6 had hepatic involvement exclusively, 4 had neurological involvement, 3 had a neurological and hepatic involvement and 3 were asymptomatic. The age onset was 9 years for hepatic and 17 years for neurologic involvement. The mean delay in diagnosis was 14 months. Chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and fulminant hepatic failure were the clinical forms of liver disease. Patients with neurologic disorders had behavioral disturbances and extrapyramidal manifestations such as dystonia and parkinsonism. Patients had a good response to penicillamine, except 3 that died of liver complications, in whom the treatment was delayed or discontinued. We conclude that this metabolic disease must be suspected in pubertal children and in adults of less than 30 years old with liver disease of unknown origin or behavioral alterations associated to an extrapyramidal syndrome.

Publication types

  • English Abstract
  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Central Nervous System Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Ceruloplasmin / analysis
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Copper / blood
  • Copper / urine
  • Female
  • Hepatolenticular Degeneration / complications
  • Hepatolenticular Degeneration / diagnosis*
  • Hepatolenticular Degeneration / drug therapy
  • Hepatolenticular Degeneration / genetics
  • Humans
  • Liver / pathology
  • Liver Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Male
  • Penicillamine / therapeutic use
  • Pregnancy
  • Pyridoxine / therapeutic use
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Substances

  • Copper
  • Ceruloplasmin
  • Penicillamine
  • Pyridoxine