Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the neuropsychiatric status of Wilson's disease

Abstract

We have read with interest the Letter to the Editor by Drs. Zhuang and Zhong, who presented the clinical data of 68 patients with Wilson's disease (WD) who were admitted to the hospital before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and appreciated their findings on hepatic and some extrahepatic manifestations. Nevertheless, given the strong impact of the pandemic on patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders, we would have expected a worsening of the psychiatric and/or neurological impairments in these patients. In contrast, according to the authors, these manifestations remained, somewhat unexpectedly, unchanged. This finding is in contrast with most of the current literature that highlights not only an increased incidence of mental health disorders in the general population but also an exacerbation of neurological and psychiatric symptoms in patients with chronic diseases, especially in those with pre-existing neuropsychiatric disorders, such as WD. Although the study was mainly focused on the hepatic features of WD patients taking anti-copper treatment, a generic and cumulative definition of neurological and psychiatric manifestations, as in this study, does not allow for further considerations. Future studies during and after the pandemic are necessary to clarify the real impact, either direct or indirect, of the COVID-19 pandemic on the neurological and psychiatric symptoms of WD patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Extra-hepatic manifestations; Neuropsychiatric symptoms; Resilience; Therapy; Wilson’s disease.