Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Lesion Explorer: A Video-guided, Standardized Protocol for Accurate and Reliable MRI-derived Volumetrics in Alzheimer's Disease and Normal Elderly
Published on: April 14, 2014
Brain volume is related to neurological impairment and to copper overload in Wilson's disease
Lukasz Smolinski1, Tomasz Litwin2, Barbara Redzia-Ogrodnik3
1Second Department of Neurology, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9, 02-957, Warsaw, Poland. lsmolinski@ipin.edu.pl.
Introduction:
To determine whether brain volume was associated with functional and neurological impairments and with copper overload markers in patients with Wilson's disease.
Methods:
In 48 treatment-naïve patients, we assessed functional and neurological impairments with the Unified Wilson's Disease Rating Scale, measured normalized brain volumes based on magnetic resonance images, and assessed concentration of non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper. We correlated brain volume measures with functional and neurological impairment scores and copper overload indices.
Results:
Functional and neurological impairments correlated with all brain volume measures, including the total brain volume and the volumes of white matter and gray matter (both peripheral gray matter and deep brain nuclei). Higher non-ceruloplasmin-bound copper concentrations were associated with greater functional and neurological impairments and lower brain volumes.
Conclusions:
Our findings provided the first in vivo evidence that the severity of brain atrophy is a correlate of functional and neurological impairments in patients with Wilson's disease and that brain volume could serve as a marker of neurodegeneration induced by copper.
Related Concept Videos
Disorders of the Nervous Tissue
Homeostatic Imbalances:
Alzheimer's disease manifests as a gradual decline in memory and cognitive abilities, attributed to the buildup of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain.
Parkinson's disease arises from the...
Increased Intracranial Pressure ll: Pathophysiology
Cerebral Edema l: Introduction
Cerebral Edema ll: Pathophysiology
Dementia l: Introduction
Hepatic Encephalopathy

