Definition of Wilson's disease:

Wilson's disease is an inherited disorder where there is excessive amounts of copper in the body's tissues. This causes a variety of effects, including liver disease and damage to the nervous system.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Wilson's disease is a rare inherited disorder. If both parents carry an abnormal gene for Wilson's disease, there is a 25% chance in each pregnancy that the child will have the disorder (i.e., it is an autosomal recessive disease).

Wilson's disease causes the body to take in and keep too much copper. The copper deposits in the liver, brain, kidneys, and the eyes. The deposits of copper cause tissue damage, death of the tissues, and scarring, which causes the affected organs to stop working correctly. Liver failure and damage to the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) are the most predominant, and the most dangerous, effects of the disorder. If not caught and treated early, Wilson's disease is fatal.

It is most common in eastern Europeans, Sicilians, and southern Italians, but may occur in any group. The disorder most commonly appears in people under 40 years old. In children, the symptoms begin to show by around 4 years of age.