The presentation covered liver transplants, organ rejection, instances of multiple transplants, and the relatively small number of Wilson's Disease patients they actually see at Mt. Sinai. A promising future alternative to organ transplants is cell transplants. Rather than replacing the whole organ at once, Dr. Gupta successfully introduced new liver cells in mice. These cells survived, reproduced, and spread throughout the liver over time. This kind of therapy holds particular promise for Wilson's Disease patients because the new cells can manage copper and this capability for a portion of the liver may be sufficient to keep the copper levels in balance.
Research is still very early and human trials are many years away.
We were pleasantly surprised to be joined by two doctors specializing in Wilson's Disease treatment in Sweden who made the long trip from Uppsala, Sweden. They gave us a fresh perspective of the Swedish coordinated social welfare response to Wilson's Disease patients. Medical care, psychological care, physical therapy, social support, and job assistance are all brought to help. After the meeting, the bus took us back to Manhattan where we had lunch at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center followed by a general meeting. Dr. Selner conducted some association business including the election of officers, then opened the floor to general questions and answers.