Misdiagnosis of Wilson's Disease
Misdiagnosis of Wilson's Disease
Prompt diagnosis and treatment of Wilson's diseases is vital to preventing serious, even life threatening complications, such as brain damage, kidney damage, and liver failure. However, a diagnosis of Wilson's disease may be overlooked or delayed because symptoms generally do not appear for years after the onset of the disease at birth.
Additionally, some symptoms of Wilson's disease are nonspecific and are common symptoms of other conditions, such as gastroenteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease or food poisoning. Because of the similarity to symptoms of these and other diseases, it is vital that people with symptoms of Wilson's disease seek prompt medical care....more about Wilson's Disease »
Alternative diagnoses list for Wilson's Disease:
For a diagnosis of Wilson's Disease,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Wilson's Disease:
Diseases for which Wilson's Disease may be an alternative diagnosis
The other diseases for which Wilson's Disease
is listed as a possible alternative
diagnosis in their lists include:
Wilson's Disease: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?
Causes of Wilson's Disease may include these medical conditions:
- Wilson disease is an autosomal recessive inherited condition caused by mutations or deletions of the ATP7B protein encoded by chromosome subbands 13q14.3-q 21.1
- more causes...»
Wilson's Disease Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
Wilson's Disease: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Common Misdiagnoses and Wilson's Disease
Rare copper disease insidious and misdiagnosed: Wilson's disease (a form of copper overload) is a rare disorder that
has a slow and insidious onset that can often fail to be diagnosed.
Copper builds up in the liver and in the brain,
usually in the late childhood, teens, or 20's.
Brain changes can lead to a variety of neurological and psychological type symptoms,
such as speech symptoms, language difficulty, behavioral symptoms, and various others.
Possible misdiagnoses include depression, behavioral disorders, schizophrenia,
mental retardation, learning difficulty, anxiety disorders,
hysteria, and other psychological disorders.
Physical symptoms related to liver damage, such as jaundice, often appear later,
leading to the delayed diagnosis.
See overview of Wilson's disease.
Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who
had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness
because he suffered from sudden inability to speak.
This was initially misdiagnosed as a "nervous breakdown" and other mental conditions.
He was later diagnosed as having had a stroke, and suffering from aphasia (inability to speak),
a well-known complication of stroke (or other brain conditions).
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for
a patient to show mental decline to dementia.
Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,
such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease,
it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs
that the elderly patient may be taking.
There are also various other possible causes of dementia.
Mild traumatic brain injury often remains undiagnosed: Although the symptoms
of severe brain injury are hard to miss,
it is less clear for milder injuries, or even those causing a mild concussion diagnosis.
The condition goes by the name of "mild traumatic brain injury" (MTBI).
MTBI symptoms can be mild, and can continue for days or weeks after the injury.
See the symptoms of MTBI or misdiagnosis of MTBI.
MTBI misdiagnosed as balance problem: When a person has symptoms
such as vertigo or dizziness, a diagnosis of brain injury may go overlooked.
This is particularly true of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), for which the
symptoms are typically mild. The symptoms has also relate to a relatively
mild brain injury (e.g. fall), that could have occurred days or even weeks ago.
Vestibular dysfunction, causing vertigo-like symptoms, is a common complication
of mild brain injury.
See causes of dizziness, causes of vertigo, or misdiagnosis of MTBI.
Brain pressure condition often misdiagnosed as dementia: A condition
that results from an excessive pressure of CSF within the brain is often misdiagnosed.
It may be misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease or dementia (such as Alzheimer's disease).
The condition is called "Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus" (NPH) and is caused by having
too much CSF, i.e. too much "fluid on the brain".
One study suggested that 1 in 20 diagnoses of dementia or Parkinson's disease were actually NPH.
See misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Post-concussive brain injury often misdiagnosed: A study found that soldiers who had
suffered a concussive injury in battle often were misdiagnosed on their return.
A variety of symptoms can occur in post-concussion syndrome and these were not being correctly
attributed to their concussion injury.
See introduction to concussion.
Chronic liver disease often undiagnosed: One study reported that 50% of patients
with a chronic liver disease remain undiagnosed by their primary physician.
The reasons are multifactorial.
Possible conditions include chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, hemochromatosis,
or other types of liver condition.
See introduction to liver disease or misdiagnosis of liver disease.
Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be
correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients.
These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children.
See misdiagnosis of migraine or introduction to migraine.
Huntington disease maybe confused: Huntington Disease is an
autosomal dominant disorder presenting as an inherited adult onset neurological
disorder. The patient has three characteristic features: chorea, abnormal
behaviour and dementia. It must also be differentiated from other disorders or
conditions associated with chorea such as Wilson disease, drug-induced tardive
dyskinesia, Sydenham's chorea, systemic lupus erythematosus and senile chorea.
A family history must be asked for. The disease has a fatal outcome 15- 20
years from onset. There is no specific treatment for the condition. Genetic
testing and counselling is every important in Huntington disease.
Wilson's Disease: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Wilson's Disease:
The following medical news items
are relevant to misdiagnosis of Wilson's Disease:
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Wilson's Disease
or confirming a diagnosis of Wilson's Disease,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Wilson's Disease may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Wilson's Disease.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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