View clinical trials related to Wilson Disease.
Filter by:Wilson's disease (WD) is a genetic disorder characterized by an accumulation of copper in the body, mainly in the liver and brain. Patients suffering from this disease are monitored by liver function tests, blood copper levels, and 24-hour urinary copper determinations. Treatment is based either on chelating the copper accumulated in the body using D-penicillamine or Trientine or on limiting intestinal copper absorption with zinc salts. Monitoring copper elimination in urine collected over 24 hours is essential for estimating a patient's copper load, adapting treatment dosage, and detecting any copper deficiency. Nevertheless, urine collection is often complicated for patients, given the obvious constraints of collecting urine over 24 hours. Without this, clinical decisions are usually made based on spot urine. There is no official recommendation for monitoring urinary copper elimination other than on 24-hour urine. According to studies on healthy volunteers under physiological conditions, urinary copper elimination occurs according to a circadian rhythm, with minimal copper elimination between 8 pm and 4 am and maximum between 8 am and noon. The study would aim to find the period of the day best correlated with 24h urinary copper excretion
Primary objective - Collection of patients with wilson disease either presented with neurological or hepatic symptoms - Assessment of psychiatric and cognitive disorders in both groups by using specific scales Secondary objective - correlation of MRI brain findings with cognitive & psychiatric symptoms found in the patients ,if possible.
The assumption is that in some of the carriers, the increase in enzymes reflects tissue damage due to excess copper. The reduction of the amount of copper absorbed will decrease excess copper in the liver, which will result in a decrease in the level of liver enzymes. Zinc causes the induction of metalothionines in the intestine, which in turn prevents absorption of copper from the digestive system. Zinc administration in Wilson's patients causes the depletion of copper deposits and constitutes one of the cornerstones in the treatment of this disease.