Diagnosis of Treatable Wilson's Disease

IT is a tragedy for patients, their families and their physicians when the physician fails to make the diagnosis of a progressive and fatal disorder that is treatable.Wilson's disease is such a disorder.1 All the clinical manifestations can be prevented if the disease is diagnosed before functional impairment occurs. The disease is reversible even after severe functional impairment develops. It is not treatable after irreversible damage is inflicted on the brain or liver.Unfortunately, but understandably, these tragedies occur too frequently in the diagnosis of Wilson's disease. It is unfortunate for the patients who suffer severe physical and emotional . . .