Use of Zinc for Wilson Disease
Use of Zinc for Wilson Disease
Summary of Clinical Trials with Zinc in WD
• No randomized controlled studies performed for zinc in WD
• Paucity of multicenter prospective randomized trials in large patient cohorts
‒ Non-response to zinc has been observed with an increase in liver enzyme levels and abnormal liver ultrasound results while on long-term therapy.
‒ Hepatic deterioration risk with treatment failure occurred more often with zinc therapy than with chelating agents.4
• A review article summarized 13 studies in zinc in WD
‒ Most were observations from single centers that do not correct for variables (disease duration, comorbidities, concomitant medications)
• Only 1 prospective, controlled study with zinc in WD as monotherapy (zinc vs DPA) in a single center.
‒ Both zinc sulfate and DPA were effective in long-term treatment of WD but better tolerance was observed with zinc.
‒ Authors recommended zinc as initial therapy in patients with preclinical WD and with neurological presentation.