ACCUMULATION OF MANGANESE AND COPPER IN PALLIDUM OF CIRRHOTIC-PATIENTS - ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF HEPATIC-ENCEPHALOPATHY

Concentrations of zinc, copper and manganese were measured by atomic a bsorption spectrometry in samples of globus pallidus obtained at autop sy from 9 patients with chronic liver disease and an equal number of a ge-matched controls. Manganese concentrations were significantly incre ased several fold (p<0.01) in globus pallidus of liver disease patient s accompanied by smaller but significant 2-fold increases of copper. Z inc concentrations, on the other hand, were within normal limits. Incr eased pallidal manganese offers a cogent explanation for the observed T-1-weighted MRI signal hyperintensity in pallidum of cirrhotic patien ts. Increased copper content in brain suggests the existence of common pathophysiologic mechanisms in inherited (Wilson Disease) and acquire d hepatocerebral disorders.