Mental disorders associated with hepatolenticular degeneration

Hepatolenticular degeneration is an autosomal recessive disease caused by a decrease in the level of ceruloplasmin (a copper-binding enzyme) in the plasma. Since it was first reported by Wilson in 1912, it is also called Wilson disease. Due to acetone metabolism disorders in the body, the disease causes liver, brain and other tissue lesions. The clinical features are extrapyramidal symptoms, liver damage, and characteristic corneal pigmented rings, often accompanied by mental disorders of varying degrees. The age of onset is from adolescence to adulthood, and about half of the patients are between 20 and 30 years old. Because it is often accompanied by mental symptoms, it is easy to be misdiagnosed as primary mental disorder. The disease progresses continuously, and most of them have a poor prognosis.