Wilson disease is a genetic disorder that prevents the body from getting rid of extra copper.

People who get Wilson disease inherit two abnormal copies of the ATP7B gene, one from each parent. Wilson disease carriers, who have only one copy of the abnormal gene, do not have symptoms. Most people with Wilson disease have no known family history of the disease. A person’s chances of having Wilson disease increase if one or both parents have it.

About one in 40,000 people get Wilson disease. It equally affects men and women. Symptoms usually appear between ages 5 to 35, but new cases have been reported in people aged 2 to 72 years.

Source: digestive.niddk.nih.gov – July 2008