Characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized patients with Wilson's disease in the United States: A national survey.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by excessive copper disposition predominantly in the liver and brain. Hospitalization data on patients with WD are scarce. Hence, we sought to examine the inpatient characteristics and outcomes of patients with WD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We utilized the National Inpatient Database (2006-2011) and analyzed all adult patients with a diagnosis of WD. RESULTS: There were 9046 hospitalizations during the study period. The leading etiologies for admissions were chronic liver disease (8.58%), WD (6.49%) and infections (septicemia 3.10% and pneumonia 2.50%). The overall inpatient mortality rate for WD patients was 2.58%. Independent predictors of mortality in WD patients were acute respiratory failure (OR: 4.53; 95% CI: 2.44-8.42), acute renal failure (OR: 4.09; 95% CI: 2.19-7.65), decompensated liver disease or liver failure (OR: 3.37; 95% CI: 1.72-6.59), and advanced age (every 10 year increase, OR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.25-1.75). Propensity-score matched analysis revealed better inpatient survival in WD patients compared to matched non-WD patients (2.84% vs. 4.67%, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized patients with WD. These findings add important knowledge to our understanding of the healthcare utilization and outcomes of this rare disease in the United States.

Ninety days transplant free survival with high volume plasma exchange in Wilson disease presenting as acute liver failure.

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy and safety of high volume plasma exchange (HVPE) in Wilson disease presenting as acute liver failure (WD-ALF). METHODS: An analysis of prospectively collected data of consecutively admitted WD-ALF cases was done and patients were divided into two groups: (i) high volume plasma exchange (HVPE) group- who received HVPE + standard medical therapy (SMT), and (ii) SMT group- received only SMT. Outcome measure was transplant free survival (TFS) at 90 days post enrollment, change in biochemical, hemodynamic parameters & incidence of organ dysfunction in HVPE as compared to SMT group, and HVPE related complications. RESULTS: Out of the total 43 cases of WD-ALF reported in the study period, 37 were enrolled (median age 9 years, 62.2% males). All biochemical parameters and prognostic indices except blood ammonia and serum creatinine improved significantly at 72 to 96 hours after enrollment in the HVPE group. Overall, TFS at 90 days was present in 9/19 (47.3%) in HVPE group vs 3/18 (16.6%) in the SMT group (OR 2.84, 95% CI 0.91-8.8, P = .049). Kaplan Meier survival analysis revealed that HVPE group had significantly higher cumulative survival as per the Log Rank test (P = .027); median days of survival was 38 days (IQR 12-63) in HVPE group vs 14 (IQR 5-22) days in SMT group. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that in children with WD-ALF, HVPE not only acts as a bridging therapy to LT but may also improve proportion of the cases with TFS.

[Liver transplantation in Wilson's disease patients, 1996-2017]. / Májátültetés Wilson-kóros betegekben, 1996­2017.

Introduction: Wilson's disease is a lethal-without-treatment inherited disorder of copper metabolism. Despite the increased focus on the diagnosis and treatment, liver transplantation is needed in a number of cases even nowadays. Aim: To collect and analyze the data of the Hungarian Wilson's disease patients who underwent liver transplantation. Method: Data of 24 Wilson's disease patients who underwent liver transplantation at the Semmelweis University have been analyzed retrospectively. The diagnosis of Wilson's disease was based on the international score system. The diagnosis of acute liver failure corresponded to the King's College criteria. All liver transplantations had been performed at the Department of Transplantation and Surgery of Semmelweis University, in 1996 for the first time. Results: The mean age was 26 years, F/M = 13/11. Twelve patients needed urgent liver transplantation for acute liver failure, and 12 underwent transplantation for decompensated liver cirrhosis. One patient had been retransplanted because of chronic rejection. Three patients with acute on chronic liver failure were transplanted via the Eurotransplant program. The mean time on the waiting list was 3 vs 320 days in acute liver failure and chronic liver disease groups, respectively. The overall 5-year survival was 66%, but it was 80% after 2002 indicating both the learning curve effect and the improvement of vigilance in Hungary. Despite difficulties of the diagnostic process, Wilson's disease was identified in 21/24 patients prior to the transplantation. Conclusion: Liver transplantation is needed in a number of cases of Wilson's disease. The ideal indication and timing of transplantation may improve the survival of the patients. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(51): 2021-2025.

Clinical features and mutational analysis in 114 young children with Wilson disease from South China.

Wilson disease (WD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the ATP7B gene. Clinical features and mutational analysis of Chinese children with WD at early age were rarely described. Herein, we retrospectively examined 114 children with WD at the mean of 5.9 years old age at diagnosis. Eight patients developed acute liver failure at mean age of 9.7 years old, 4 of whom died. Among the 114 patients, 86.0% were presymptomatic with isolated elevation of transaminases at diagnosis, 99.1% had decreased ceruloplasmin, and 68.4% had urinary copper excretion over 100 µg/24 hr. Bi-allele pathogenic ATP7B mutations were identified in all patients. Among the 60 mutations detected, 10 were novel, including 7 missense mutations (p.I566N, p.T704I, p.C980F, p.G1030 V, p.A1096Q, p.L1327P, and p.L1373F), 1 nonsense mutation (p.K866X), 1 small insertion (p.Y44LfsX2), and 1 small deletion (p.R1118PfsX10). The most frequent mutations were p.R778L, p.P992L, and p.I1148T, which affected 27.2, 25.4, and 20.2% of the 114 WD children, respectively. The patients carrying p.R778L presented a higher rate of acute liver failure than the patients without p.R778L (9.7% vs. 4.8%). These results will be helpful in establishing early diagnosis of WD at the gene level, offering beneficial information for genetic counseling and providing clues to genotype/phenotype correlation of ATP7B mutations.

Acute Liver Failure due to Wilson Disease: Eight Years of the National Liver Transplant Program in Uruguay.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Wilson's disease (WD) is an uncommon cause of acute liver failure (ALF). Our aim was to describe clinical features, diagnostic findings, treatments, and outcomes of patients with ALF due to WD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective medical record reviews of all patients with ALF due to WD in eight years in Uruguay. RESULTS: WD was the cause of six (15%) of thirty-nine ALF cases. All patients were females, with a mean age of 18 years. Four patients presented with hyperacute liver failure and two with acute failure. Jaundice was the main complaint of all patients. Mean total bilirubin (TB), alkaline phosphatase (AP), AST, and ALT were 27.5 mg/dL, 45.5 lU/l, 156 IU/L, and 51 IU/L, respectively. Ceruloplasmin levels were low in four patients, urinary cooper was high in four, and two had Kayser-Fleischer rings. All patients had Coombs-negative hemolytic anemia, acute kidney injury, histochemical identifiable copper, and advanced fibrosis on liver histology. The average MELD score was 36. All patients were treated with d-penicillamine and listed for urgent liver transplantation (LT). Prometheus® was performed in one patient. Three patients died: two without LT and one after LT. Three patients survived: one without LT (New Wilson Index<11) and two with LT. The referral time to the program and the total time (referral plus waiting list time) were longer for non-survivors than for survivors (14 vs. 3 days and 23 vs. 8 respectively). CONCLUSION: All cases had typical clinical, analytical and histopathology characteristics. Early referral was determinant of prognosis.

AARC-ACLF score: best predictor of outcome in children and adolescents with decompensated Wilson disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Doubts have been raised about efficacy of New Wilson's index (NWI) in predicting Liver Transplant (LT) or mortality in decompensated Wilson Disease (WD) patients. APASL ACLF Research Consortium (AARC) has introduced a new score (AARC-ACLF) which has not been studied in children. METHODS: Data of all pediatric WD cases were prospectively collected and analyzed. Cox regression and Area Under Receiver Operative Curve (AUROC) analyses were used to identify best predictive score for mortality at 90 days. RESULTS: Sixty-six confirmed cases of decompensated WD, 39 (59%) improved on medical management and 27 (41%) either died (20) or were transplanted (7). Among those with NWI ≥ 11 (42/66 cases) 19 survived versus those with NWI < 11 (24/66), 4 died. NWI (HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.07-1.42, p = 0.005), AARC-ACLF (HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.34-2.05, p = 0.000) and Chronic Liver Failure-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score also known as CLIF-SOFA (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.13-1.50, p = 0.000) were all significantly associated with death on univariate Cox regression analysis. On comparative evaluation of the predictive scores in the present cohort, the highest positive (6.02) and lowest negative (0.09) likelihood ratios as well as highest accuracy (87.88%) revealed AARC-ACLF as the best predictor of mortality. AARC-ACLF had the best predictability with AUROC of 0.939 and the minimum standard error of 0.027. For every unit increase in AARC-ACLF score, there is likelihood of 66% increase in 90 day mortality. The optimal cutoff for the AARC-ACLF score to predict mortality was 11 or more. CONCLUSION: AARC-ACLF is the best score for the prediction of mortality at 90 days in decompensated WD cases.

Therapeutic potential of hepatocyte-like-cells converted from stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth in fulminant Wilson's disease.

Wilson's disease (WD) is an inherited metabolic disease arising from ATPase copper transporting beta gene (ATP7B) mutation. Orthotoropic liver transplantation is the only radical treatment of fulminant WD, although appropriate donors are lacking at the onset of emergency. Given the hepatogenic capacity and tissue-integration/reconstruction ability in the liver of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED), SHED have been proposed as a source for curing liver diseases. We hypothesized the therapeutic potential of SHED and SHED-converted hepatocyte-like- cells (SHED-Heps) for fulminant WD. SHED and SHED-Heps were transplanted into WD model Atp7b-mutated Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats received copper overloading to induce a lethal fulminant liver failure. Due to the superior copper tolerance via ATP7B, SHED-Hep transplantation gave more prolonged life-span of fulminant LEC rats than SHED transplantation. The integrated ATP7B-expressing SHED-Heps showed more therapeutic effects on to restoring the hepatic dysfunction and tissue damages in the recipient liver than the integrated naïve SHED without ATP7B expression. Moreover, SHED-Heps could reduce copper-induced oxidative stress via ATP7B- independent stanniocalcin 1 secretion in the fulminant LEC rats, suggesting a possible role for paracrine effect of the integrated SHED-Heps. Taken together, SHED-Heps offer a potential of functional restoring, bridging, and preventive approaches for treating fulminant WD.

Liver Expression of a MiniATP7B Gene Results in Long-Term Restoration of Copper Homeostasis in a Wilson Disease Model in Mice.

Gene therapy with an adeno-associated vector (AAV) serotype 8 encoding the human ATPase copper-transporting beta polypeptide (ATP7B) complementary DNA (cDNA; AAV8-ATP7B) is able to provide long-term copper metabolism correction in 6-week-old male Wilson disease (WD) mice. However, the size of the genome (5.2 kilobases [kb]) surpasses the optimal packaging capacity of the vector, which resulted in low-yield production; in addition, further analyses in WD female mice and in animals with a more advanced disease revealed reduced therapeutic efficacy, as compared to younger males. To improve efficacy of the treatment, an optimized shorter AAV vector was generated, in which four out of six metal-binding domains (MBDs) were deleted from the ATP7B coding sequence, giving rise to the miniATP7B protein (Δ57-486-ATP7B). In contrast to AAV8-ATP7B, AAV8-miniATP7B could be produced at high titers and was able to restore copper homeostasis in 6- and 12-week-old male and female WD mice. In addition, a recently developed synthetic AAV vector, AAVAnc80, carrying the miniATP7B gene was similarly effective at preventing liver damage, restoring copper homeostasis, and improving survival 1 year after treatment. Transduction of approximately 20% of hepatocytes was sufficient to normalize copper homeostasis, suggesting that corrected hepatocytes are acting as a sink to eliminate excess of copper. Importantly, administration of AAVAnc80-miniATP7B was safe in healthy mice and did not result in copper deficiency. Conclusion: In summary, gene therapy using an optimized therapeutic cassette in different AAV systems provides long-term correction of copper metabolism regardless of sex or stage of disease in a clinically relevant WD mouse model. These results pave the way for the implementation of gene therapy in WD patients.

Predictive Factors for Survival in Children Receiving Liver Transplants for Wilson's Disease: A Cohort Study Using European Liver Transplant Registry Data.

Liver transplantation (LT) is a rescue therapy for life-threatening complications of Wilson's disease (WD). However, data on the outcome of WD patients after LT are scarce. The aim of our study was to analyze a large pediatric WD cohort with the aim of investigating the longterm outcome of pediatric WD patients after LT and to identify predictive factors for patient and transplant survival. This is a retrospective cohort study using data of all children (<18 years) transplanted for WD enrolled in the European Liver Transplant Registry from January 1968 until December 2013. In total, 338 patients (57.6% female) transplanted at 80 different European centers (1-26 patients per center) were included in this study. The median age at transplantation was 14.0 years (interquartile range [IQR], 11.2-16.1 years); patients were followed up for a median of 5.4 years (IQR, 1.0-10.9 years) after LT. Overall patient survival rates were high with 87% (1-year survival), 84% (5-year survival), and 81% (10-year survival); survival rates increased considerably with the calendar year (P < 0.001). Early age at LT, living donation, and histidine tryptophan ketoglutarate preservation liquid were identified as risk factors for poor patient survival in the multivariate analysis. LT is an excellent treatment option for pediatric patients with WD and associated end-stage liver disease. Longterm outcome in these patients is similar to other pediatric causes for LT. Overall patient and graft survival rates improved considerably over the last decades. To improve future research in the field, the vast variability of allocation strategies should be harmonized and a generally accepted definition or discrimination of acute versus chronic WD needs to be found.

[The clinical analysis of fulminant Wilson's disease in patients with hepatitis B virus infection: a report of 13 cases].

To analyze the clinical features and prognosis of fulminant Wilson's disease (FWD) in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Twenty-seven patients were enrolled in Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital from 2005 to 2015, including 13 FWD patients with HBV infection and 14 FWD patients without HBV infection. Clinical efficacy and survival rate were evaluated. Baseline biochemical data in two groups were comparable(P>0.05), including total bilirubin, prothrombin activity, serum albumin, alpha fetal protein, alanine transaminase, ceruloplasmin and 24 hours urine copper .Treatment in FWD group with HBV infection was ineffective, including 9(9/13) deaths and 4(4/13) patients receiveing liver transplants. However, 7(7/14)cases in the other group did not response to the treatment, including 6(6/14)deaths and 1(1/14)patient receiving liver transplant. The prognosis in the two groups is significantly different(P=0.006), which is much worse in FWD patients with HBV infection.

Diagnosis and management of fulminant Wilson's disease: a single center's experience.

BACKGROUND: Medical therapy is rarely effective in patients with fulminant Wilson's disease (FWD). Liver transplantation is limited by the lack of donor liver in most patients with FWD at the time of diagnosis. New Wilson's index, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) and Child-Pugh score are useful tools for decision-making of liver transplantation; however, none of them is an independent decisive tool. It is worthwhile to explore a more effective and practical therapeutic strategy and reevaluate the prediction systems for patients with FWD. METHODS: Nine patients with FWD associated with hemolytic crisis and fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) were investigated. The clinical presentation, prognostic score and medical therapies of the patients were analyzed. RESULTS: In 7 of the 9 patients with FWD who received the comprehensive therapy of corticosteroid, copper-chelating agent (dimercaptopropansulfonate sodium) and therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), 6 patients recovered from FHF. The remaining one had been improved through the comprehensive therapy but died of septicemia 51 days later. Two patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) died from liver failure in three or five hospital days without plasma exchange or chelating therapy. All of the 9 patients with FWD presented with acute hepatic failure, severe jaundice and mild to severe hemolytic anemia. No marked difference in the incidence of severe hemolytic anemia was detected between the survival and deceased groups. However, the incidence and the degree of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in the non-survival group were higher than those in the survival group. Unlike the deceased group, the survival group had no complications induced by bacterial infection. Compared to new Wilson's index, Child-Pugh score and MELD score, the variation of prothrombin activity (PTA) between the survival and deceased groups was more evident. CONCLUSION: For patients with FWD, the episode of severe hepatic encephalopathy or/and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis indicates worse prognosis, and PTA is a recommendable predictor. An emergent liver transplantation should be considered for patients whose PTA is below 20%, or for those with severe HE or/and SBP. The comprehensive therapy of corticosteroid, copper-chelating agent and TPE is effective for patients without SBP and whose PTA is higher than 20%.

Long term results of liver transplantation for Wilson's disease: experience in France.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Liver transplantation (LT) is the therapeutic option for severe complications of Wilson's disease (WD). We aimed to report on the long-term outcome of WD patients following LT. METHODS: The medical records of 121 French patients transplanted for WD between 1985 and 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. Seventy-five patients were adults (median age: 29 years, (18-66)) and 46 were children (median age: 14 years, (7-17)). The indication for LT was (1) fulminant/subfulminant hepatitis (n = 64, 53%), median age = 16 years (7-53), (2) decompensated cirrhosis (n = 50, 41%), median age = 31.5 years (12-66) or (3) severe neurological disease (n = 7, 6%), median age = 21.5 years (14.5-42). Median post-transplant follow-up was 72 months (0-23.5). RESULTS: Actuarial patient survival rates were 87% at 5, 10, and 15 years. Male gender, pre-transplant renal insufficiency, non elective procedure, and neurological indication were significantly associated with poorer survival rate. None of these factors remained statistically significant under multivariate analysis. In patients transplanted for hepatic indications, the prognosis was poorer in case of fulminant or subfulminant course, non elective procedure, pretransplant renal insufficiency and in patients transplanted before 2000. Multivariate analysis disclosed that only recent period of LT was associated with better prognosis. At last visit, the median calculated glomerular filtration rate was 93 ml/min (33-180); 11/93 patients (12%) had stage II renal insufficiency and none had stage III. CONCLUSIONS: Liver failure associated with WD is a rare indication for LT (<1%), which achieves an excellent long-term outcome, including renal function.

Long-term outcomes of patients with Wilson disease in a large Austrian cohort.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Wilson disease is an autosomal recessive disorder that affects copper metabolism, leading to copper accumulation in liver, central nervous system, and kidneys. There are few data on long-term outcomes and survival from large cohorts; we studied these features in a well-characterized Austrian cohort of patients with Wilson disease. METHODS: We analyzed data from 229 patients diagnosed with Wilson disease from 1961 through 2013; 175 regularly attended a Wilson disease outpatient clinic and/or their physicians were contacted for information on disease and treatment status and outcomes. For 53 patients lost during the follow-up period, those that died and reasons for their death were identified from the Austrian death registry. RESULTS: The mean observation period was 14.8 ± 11.4 years (range, 0.5-52.0 years), resulting in 3116 patient-years. Of the patients, 61% presented with hepatic disease, 27% with neurologic symptoms, and 10% were diagnosed by family screening at presymptomatic stages. Patients with a hepatic presentation were diagnosed younger (21.2 ± 12.0 years) than patients with neurologic disease (28.8 ± 12.0; P < .001). In 2% of patients, neither symptoms nor onset of symptoms could be determined with certainty. Most patients stabilized (35%) or improved on chelation therapy (26% fully recovered, 24% improved), but 15% deteriorated; 8% required a liver transplant, and 7.4% died within the observation period (71% of deaths were related to Wilson disease). A lower proportion of patients with Wilson disease survived for 20 years (92%) than healthy Austrians (97%), adjusted for age and sex (P = .03). Cirrhosis at diagnosis was the best predictor of death (odds ratio, 6.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-31.03; P = .013) and need for a liver transplant (odds ratio, 07; 95% confidence interval, 0.016-0.307; P < .001). Only 84% of patients with cirrhosis survived 20 years after diagnosis (compared with healthy Austrians, P =.008). CONCLUSION: Overall, patients who receive adequate care for Wilson disease have a good long-term prognosis. However, cirrhosis increases the risk of death and liver disease. Early diagnosis, at a precirrhotic stage, might increase survival times and reduce the need for a liver transplant.

Compliant treatment with anti-copper agents prevents clinically overt Wilson's disease in pre-symptomatic patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Wilson's disease (WD) is an inherited copper metabolism disorder that leads to dysfunction of affected tissues, mostly in the liver and brain. Anti-copper treatment should prevent clinically overt WD in pre-symptomatic patients but this has not been supported by strong evidence. Our aim was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of treatment in clinically pre-symptomatic patients, with particular emphasis on patient compliance with treatment. METHODS: Data were analyzed for 87 consecutive patients with no clinical symptoms of WD who were identified between 1957 and 2009 by family screening. All of them since diagnosis were treated with either zinc sulphate (Zn) (66.7%) or D-penicillamine (DPA) (33.3%). RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 12 years (range 3-52), 55 (63%) patients remained without clinical symptoms, 13 (15%) developed neuropsychiatric symptoms and 21 (24%) developed hepatic dysfunction, including five deaths from hepatic failure. Non-compliance for at least three consecutive months was observed in 39 patients, and in 29 cases this extended for more than 12 months. Multivariate analysis showed that the odds of developing symptomatic WD were independently increased by non-compliance (odds ratio 24.0, 95% confidence interval 6.0-99.0). According to Kaplan-Meier analysis patients who were compliant to treatment had a significantly higher likelihood of remaining symptom-free, and their overall survival was similar to the survival rate observed in the general population. CONCLUSION: The use of anti-copper agents in clinically pre-symptomatic patients diagnosed with WD allows clinically overt disease to be effectively prevented. However, compliance with therapy is extremely important.

Factors that predict mortality in children with Wilson disease associated acute liver failure and comparison of Wilson disease specific prognostic indices.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Wilson disease (WD) associated acute liver failure (ALF) affects children more than adults. The predictors of mortality and outcome in patients without encephalopathy are not clear. We investigated the ability of prognostic factors and various models including model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) to predict mortality among children with WD and ALF. METHODS: We analyzed the admission characteristics in 61 children <18 years with WD and ALF. Factors associated with mortality on univariate Cox regression analysis were analyzed by forward stepwise Cox hazards regression. The prognostic models such as Nazer's model, revised Kings College Model, and pediatric end-stage liver disease/model for end-stage liver disease (PELD/MELD) score were compared. RESULTS: Of the 145 children < 18 years with WD, 61 experienced ALF of whom 33 (54%) died, including 22/27 (81.5%) with encephalopathy and 11/34 (32.4%) without encephalopathy. The mean age of children with ALF was 9.7 years, 38(62.3%) were boys. Prognostic factors significant for mortality included encephalopathy, international normalized ratio, total proteins, total and direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, serum creatinine, and white blood cell count. Forward stepwise Cox proportional hazards regression identified encephalopathy (hazard ratio 2.88; CI 1.1-7.4) and total bilirubin (hazard ratio 1.05; CI: 1.02-1.09) as predictors of outcome. The area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of the Nazer index, revised King's College Criteria, and PELD/MELD were 0.74, 0.76, and 0.75, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality in children with WD and ALF is 54% including 81.5% with encephalopathy and 32.4% without encephalopathy. The prognostic models, MELD/PELD score, Nazer index and Kings College Criteria are comparable with a AUC between 0.74-0.76.

Outcome and development of symptoms after orthotopic liver transplantation for Wilson disease.

BACKGROUND: Wilson disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive copper storage disease resulting in hepatic and neurologic dysfunction. Liver transplantation is an effective treatment for fulminant cases for patients with chronic liver disease. Reports on the outcome of neuropsychiatric symptoms after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) are limited. AIM: To assess the course of neuropsychiatric and hepatic symptoms after liver transplantation for Wilson disease METHODS: Nineteen patients with Wilson disease received liver transplantation and were followed prospectively from 2005 to 2010 for the development of hepatic, neurological and psychiatric symptoms. RESULTS: Eight patients (all female) were transplanted for acute liver failure and eleven patients for chronic liver failure. Patient survival rates one and five yr after transplantation were 78% and 65%, respectively. Of the surviving patients, hepatic symptom scores improved in all patients and neurological symptom scores improved in all but one patient after OLT compared to the time of initial diagnosis and compared to pre-OLT status. Psychiatric symptoms showed moderate improvements. CONCLUSION: Survival after OLT for Wilson disease with end-stage liver disease is excellent. Overall, neuropsychiatric symptoms improved after transplantation, substantiating arguments for widening of the indication for liver transplantation in symptomatic neurologic Wilson disease patients with stable liver function.

The acute haemolytic syndrome in Wilson's disease--a review of 22 patients.

An analysis of 321 case notes of patients with Wilson's disease seen between 1955 and 2000 and one case seen in 1949 has revealed that 22 patients presented with a haemolytic crisis. This study was not a specific research project but a retrospective analysis of 321 patients with Wilson's disease seen between 1949 and 2000. All investigations were carried out in the best interests of diagnosis and management of patients referred to my clinic. The delay in diagnosis in 18 cases resulted in progression to severe hepatic disease in 14 cases and to neurological disease in 4 cases. One patient had no symptoms at the time her sister's illness was diagnosed as Wilson's disease. In a second patient, with liver disease, the diagnosis was also made when a sister was found to have Wilson's disease. There was a female to male ratio of 15:7. The average age of onset was 12.6 years and the incidence 6.9%. Delay in diagnosis resulted in nine deaths. Three patients, late in the series, were admitted in the acute phase, two female and one male; of these two responded to chelation therapy, the third required liver transplantation. Haemolysis appeared to be extravascular, and possible mechanisms of the haemolysis are discussed.

The adolescent and liver transplantation.

The outcome of liver transplantation is usually reported in terms of graft and patient survival, medical and surgical complications, and quality of life, but when it comes to transplanted adolescents such conventional parameters are unable to give a full account of their life with a new liver, and their transition from adolescence to adulthood is a time when they are particularly vulnerable. Adolescents with liver transplants have excellent survival rates, over 80% of them surviving more than 10 years. Graft loss is most often associated with complications such as chronic rejection, hepatic artery thrombosis, and biliary complications. Calcineurin inhibitors may have various side effects, including hypertension and nephrotoxicity. Liver-transplanted adolescents are also exposed to viral infections, among which Epstein-Barr virus is very common and associated with the onset of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders. Growth retardation may also be an issue in some liver transplant recipients. Future studies will determine the best way to assess the functional immune status of adolescents with a transplanted liver with a view to ensuring the best treatment to induce tolerance without the complications of excessive immunosuppression. Schooling may be disrupted due to adolescent transplant recipients' poor adherence. Non-adherence is associated with a poor medical outcome. Both physical and psychosocial functioning is reportedly lower among young liver transplant recipients than in the general population.

Acute on chronic liver disease in children from the developing world: recognition and prognosis.

OBJECTIVES: A subset of children with chronic liver disease (CLD) decompensate following an acute insult; however, data for children are not readily available. The present study aims to characterize the clinical presentation, etiology, outcome, and determinants of short-term mortality in children with an acute hepatic insult superimposed over CLD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Children of acute on chronic liver disease (ACLD) were grouped as acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) and non-ACLF. ACLF was defined as per the definition proposed by Asian Pacific Association for the Study of Liver. The acute insult, etiology of CLD, and clinical and laboratory parameters at admission along with 3-month outcome were assessed. Receiver operating curve (ROC) was plotted to measure the performance of pediatric end-stage liver disease (PELD) score in predicting the 3-month mortality. RESULTS: Of the 36 children with ACLD (median age 9.5; range 3-15 years), 17 fulfilled ACLF criteria and 19 non-ACLF. CLD was diagnosed for the first time in 86% children during their presentation with a superimposed acute insult. Wilson disease and autoimmune liver disease were the most common underlying etiology. Acute insult was caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) in 27 (75%) children and hepatitis A virus (HAV) in 10 (28%). The 3-month mortality of ACLF group was significantly higher than that of non-ACLF group (59% vs 11%, P = 0.001). PELD score of >25.5 predicted death, with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 83.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Superinfection with hepatotropic viruses on CLD in children manifests as ACLD: ACLF and non-ACLF. Hepatitis E virus is the most common superinfection in the population studied. The mortality in ACLF is 5 times higher than that in the non-ACLF group. PELD score is useful in differentiating likely survivors and nonsurvivors.