Psychosis in an adolescent patient with Wilson's disease: effects of chelation therapy.

Abstract

Wilson's disease is a rare genetic disorder involving the liver and brain, with onset frequently in adolescence. Psychiatric symptoms are often the first manifestation of the disease and can obscure the diagnosis. Chelation therapy can reverse the fatal outcome of untreated patients, so early detection is critically important. This paper describes an adolescent with Wilson's disease who, after initiation of penicillamine therapy, developed florid psychosis that improved as copper levels were decreased and that did not require use of neuroleptic medication.

• Authors: L V McDonald, C R Lake
• Journal: Psychosomatic medicine (Psychosom Med) 1995 Mar-Apr Vol. 57 Issue 2 Pg. 202-4 ISSN: 0033-3174 [Print] United States
• PMID: 7792379 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Copper
• Penicillamine

Topics

• Adolescent
• Copper (urine)
• Follow-Up Studies
• Hepatolenticular Degeneration (drug therapy, psychology, urine)
• Humans
• Male
• Neurocognitive Disorders (drug therapy, psychology, urine)
• Neuropsychological Tests
• Penicillamine (therapeutic use)
• Recurrence