Wilson's disease

an inborn defect of copper metabolism in which there is a deficiency of CAERULOPLASMIN (which normally forms a nontoxic complex with copper). The free copper may be deposited in the liver, causing jaundice and cirrhosis, or in the brain, causing mental retardation and symptoms resembling PARKINSONISM . There is a characteristic brown ring in the cornea (the Kayser-Fleischer ring). If the excess copper is removed from the body by regular treatment with PENICILLAMINE both mental and physical development may be normal.