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Case Reports
. 2025 Apr 12:30:100768.
doi: 10.1016/j.ebr.2025.100768. eCollection 2025 Jun.

A functional seizure case in Wilson's disease

Lucas D'Andrea  1 , Raphael Mosqueira  1 , Alcenor C Miranda Filho  1 , Renato L Marchetti  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A functional seizure case in Wilson's disease

Lucas D'Andrea et al. Epilepsy Behav Rep. .

Abstract

Wilson's disease (WD) is a rare disorder characterized by abnormal copper metabolism, leading to its accumulation in various tissues, particularly the brain and the liver. Psychiatric and neurological symptoms are common manifestations of WD. We present a case of a 22-year-old woman diagnosed with WD who exhibited neurological symptoms and experienced functional seizures (FS) that were misdiagnosed as epilepsy secondary to WD for almost two years. The patient's history of childhood trauma and interpersonal difficulties underscored the complex interplay between organic and psychogenic factors contributing to FS development. This case highlights the diagnostic challenges associated with the neuropsychiatric manifestations of Wilson's disease, as well as the complexities in differentiating functional seizures from epilepsy. It emphasizes the importance of comprehensive assessment and multidisciplinary care in optimizing patient outcomes.

Keywords: Ceruloplasmin; Copper; Functional Seizure; Functional neurological disorder; Psychiatry; Psychogenic; Psychogenic non-epileptic seizure; Wilson’s disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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