The mechanism of D-penicillamine induced thrombocytopenia in rheumatoid arthritis was investigated by measuring platelet life-span and platelet production rate in 2 groups of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with 250-750 mg/day D-penicillamine, 14 with a normal platelet count and 9 with thrombocytopenia (platelet count 50-130 X 10(9)/1). Age matched control patients not treated with D-peni...

Two siblings born to a mother with Wilson's disease, who was taking D-penicillamine, developed transient goitrous hypothyroidism. A prospective evaluation of 5 patients with Wilson's disease taking and not taking D-penicillamine for as long as 9.5 years showed subclinical hypothyroidism. D-penicillamine probably inhibited thyroperoxidase activity in utero in healthy infants and during childhood...

Severe poisoning resulting from single ingestions of rodenticides, herbicides, or insecticides containing arsenic have been frequently recognized. We record three cases of solubilized arsenic trioxide poisoning in Navajo Indian children and one case of sodium arsenate ingestion in an infant. One fatality occurred during dimercaprol therapy prior to initiation of therapy with D-penicillamine. Th...

Dear Editor, Wilson’s disease (WD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of copper homeostasis with a prevalence of 30 affected individuals per million population. Treatment is based on oral chelating agents such as D-penicillamine. Despite its effectiveness, Dpenicillamine presents significant adverse effects. Among them is proteinuria and nephrotic syndrome. An 11 yearold boy was admitted wi...

BACKGROUND Wilson's disease, heralded by severe hepatic insufficiency, is a rare disorder for which emergency liver transplantation is considered to be the only effective therapy. AIMS To report the features of Wilson's disease with severe hepatic insufficiency in a series of 17 patients and, during the second period of the study, to assess the efficacy of a policy consisting of early adminis...

Iron and copper release participates in the myocardial injury under ischemic conditions and hence protection might be achieved by iron chelators. Data on copper chelation are, however, sparse. The effect of the clinically used copper chelator D-penicillamine in the catecholamine model of acute myocardial injury was tested in cardiomyoblast cell line H9c2 and in Wistar Han rats. D-Penicillamine ...

Although there is good evidence that D-penicillamine can induce polymyositis, the exact pathogenic mechanism remains unclear. We report two patients with psoriatic arthritis and primary biliary cirrhosis respectively, who developed polymyositis while receiving D-penicillamine treatment for their primary diseases. Whether D-penicillamine treatment was the sole cause of polymyositis or acted as a...