passages.id: 23269
passages.type: title
passages.text: Penicillamine-related lichenoid dermatitis and utility of zinc acetate in a Wilson disease patient with hepatic presentation, anxiety and SPECT abnormalities.
passages.id: 23270
passages.type: abstract
passages.text: Wilson's disease is an autosomal recessive disorder of hepatic copper metabolism with consequent copper accumulation and toxicity in many tissues and consequent hepatic, neurologic and psychiatric disorders. We report a case of Wilson's disease with chronic liver disease; moreover, in our patient, presenting also with high levels of state anxiety without depression, 99mTc-ECD-SPECT showed cortical hypoperfusion in frontal lobes, more marked on the left frontal lobe. During the follow-up of our patient, penicillamine was interrupted after the appearance of a lichenoid dermatitis, and zinc acetate permitted to continue the successful treatment of the patient without side-effects. In our case the therapy with zinc acetate represented an effective treatment for a Wilson's disease patient in which penicillamine-related side effects appeared. The safety of the zinc acetate allowed us to avoid other potentially toxic chelating drugs; this observation is in line with the growing evidence on the efficacy of the drug in the treatment of Wilson's disease. Since most of Wilson's disease penicillamine-treated patients do not seem to develop this skin lesion, it could be conceivable that a specific genetic factor is involved in drug response. Further studies are needed for a better clarification of Wilson's disease therapy, and in particular to differentiate specific therapies for different Wilson's disease phenotypes.