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Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Positron Emission Tomography Using 64-Copper as a Tracer for the Study of Copper-Related Disorders
Published on: April 28, 2023
Comparative study of biliary trace elements and clinical phenotypes in Wilson's disease
1Ming-Shan Ren, Ren-Min Yang, Yong-Zhu Han, Institute of Neurology, Teaching Hospital, Anhui College of TCM, Hefei 230031, Anhui Province, China.
Aim:
To further explore the etiological mechanism of Wilson's disease (WD) by comparing the changes of biliary trace elements and its clinical phenotype.
Methods:
WD patients with different types and conditions (n = 20), non-WD patients with chronic liver damage (n = 22), and healthy volunteers (n = 10; used as controls) were studied. Biliary samples were taken by duodenal drainage. Atom absorption spectrophotometer was used to assay the copper and zinc content of each sample.
Results:
In WD, the copper content and copper/zinc ratio of biliary juice were evidently lower than those of non-WD patients with chronic liver damage and of healthy controls (F = 14.76, 25.4; 14.92, 26.2 respectively; P < 0.01), while the biliary zinc level had no significant difference from the two non-WD control groups (P > 0.05). There were significant differences in biliary copper excretion among patients with different types and conditions (F = 3.75, P < 0.05; F = 6.20, P < 0.01).
Conclusion:
Copper excretion by liver and the biliary system decreases obviously in WD, which plays a key role in the phenotypic copper retention, and the biliary copper retention is closely related with the severity of hepatic injury and illness.
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