What metal may be used as a treatment for Wilson's disease?

What metal may be used as a treatment for Wilson's disease?

• A. Zinc
• B. Copper
• C. Molybdenum
• D. Fluorine

Answer: (A)

Treating Wilson's disease centers on reducing the body's copper burden. Zinc helps accomplish this by blocking dietary copper absorption in the gut. It does so by inducing metallothionein in enterocytes, which binds copper and prevents it from entering the bloodstream; the bound copper is then lost when these intestinal cells are shed into feces. This makes zinc a useful maintenance therapy after initial copper-removing treatment, and an alternative when chelating agents aren’t well tolerated. It isn’t copper, nor molybdenum or fluorine, that’s used to treat Wilson’s disease. Zinc is the metal that can be used.

Treating Wilson's disease centers on reducing the body's copper burden. Zinc helps accomplish this by blocking dietary copper absorption in the gut. It does so by inducing metallothionein in enterocytes, which binds copper and prevents it from entering the bloodstream; the bound copper is then lost when these intestinal cells are shed into feces. This makes zinc a useful maintenance therapy after initial copper-removing treatment, and an alternative when chelating agents aren’t well tolerated. It isn’t copper, nor molybdenum or fluorine, that’s used to treat Wilson’s disease. Zinc is the metal that can be used.