A Patient With Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Accompanied by Wilson's Disease

Both primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and Wilson’s disease (WD) can cause copper retention in the liver, which is an important factor for liver cellular damage. Copper chelation may preserve liver cell function. It is challenging to distinguish WD from copper accumulation in patients with PBC. There have been few case reports of PBC co-occurrence with WD. Here we report a case of PBC with WD in a 55-year-old Chinese male. In addition to the typical pathological characteristics of PBC and a large number of copper depositions in the liver, the patient showed WD ATP7B gene mutations. Co-occurrence of PBC with WD is rare, which can cause diffusely intrahepatic copper deposition. Early liver biopsy and genetic testing are necessary for the diagnosis. The combination of ursodeoxycholic acid with zinc and sodium dimercaptopropane sulfonate is effective.