[Liver failure in the course of Wilson's disease--report of two cases]

Wilson's disease is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by inability to excrete copper, and manifests by hepatic, neurologic or/and psychiatric symptoms. The therapy is available if diagnosis is made in time. The hepatic form of the disease is rarely recognized in Poland. The authors describe two patients with Wilson's disease who developed acute hepatic failure leading to death, in the first case within few months, in the second within few weeks. The diagnosis was established in the terminal stage of the disease and attempts of treatment were uneffective.