The registry is not only important to current patients but is important because it will impact patients for generations. Our researchers and our donors are creating a legacy. We have been very fortunate to meet the financial needs of the study so far but we cannot become complacent considering the amount need to fund the remainder of the project.

There is now a dedicated phone number for all patients to call from anywhere to enter the patient registry.  It is answered at the first registry site at Yale and they will make arrangements to get you to a location most convenient for you.   Here is a dedicated line for people to call to enter the Patient Registry: (203)376-6043 or email ayse.coskun@yale.edu.

A Deeper Understanding of the Patient Registry

The registry is not only important to current patients but is important because it will impact patients for generations.

What is a patient registry?

A patient registry collects information about patients who are affected by a particular condition.

Patient registries and databases are key instruments to develop clinical research in the field of rare diseases (RD) and improve patient care as well as healthcare planning and policy. They are the only way to gather data from many sources to achieve a sufficient sample size and quality of information for epidemiological and clinical research. Therefore patient registries are vital to identifying important issues that need to be addressed by clinical trials and to facilitate their planning and recruitment of patients

Why a patient registry for Wilson Disease?

Though treatments have been available for over 60 years for Wilson disease (WD), unmet needs and unanswered questions remain about diagnosis, best therapy, individualization of treatment, and the monitoring of therapy.

There is currently no multicenter registry for WD in the US. In conjunction with leading Wilson Disease clinicians, we are in the process of developing a patient registry for WD at Yale University that will be expanded to multiple sites in the US and in the UK. The registry will collect over a minimum period of 5 years very detailed data on new and treated WD patients. In addition to the data registry, a bio-bank for specimens and DNA from WD patients will also be established.

The information obtained from this project will help physicians and researchers determine the best tests for diagnosing WD, the ideal way to treat patients and how best to monitor therapy. They will also learn more about the frequency of side effects of current treatments. Results will improve the definitions of successful treatment, failure of therapy and the reasons for considering alternative medications. This data will also be useful for the development of new therapies and comparisons between available treatments. This will have a direct impact on improving the future health and quality of life of patients with WD.

The Wilson Disease Association (WDA) is not aware of any other multicenter, multinational Wilson Disease registry with prospective data collection in the world. The results of this research will benefit current and future WD patients globally.

The 100th Registry Participant

By Rhonda Rowland

I’m study participant number 30 in the Wilson Disease (WD) Patient Registry.  That’s not exciting.

However, if you’re participant number 100, you represent a milestone.  And, that is exciting. Especially for those who’ve put in countless hours and tremendous effort to recruit patients, test them and analyze the data they’ve gathered, in order to glean new insights into a disease.  The new findings are then published so they can be shared with other medical professionals, making it easier to spot new patients and give them the best possible treatment.

End of Year Update – 2021

We would like to again thank you for your support for the Wilson Disease Registry (WDR) Study as we welcome the new year, 2022.
Read more about the status of the Wilson Disease Registry.

November 2019 Update

Paper that was presented at the AASLD conference, November 8-12, 2019.

Major depressive disorder in patients with Wilson Disease.

Paula Zimbrean, Susan Rubman Gold, Keerthana Nalamada, Michelle Camarata, Ricarda Tomlin, Amar Patel, Ana Vives-Rodrigues, Udeme Ekong, Nigel Bamford, Pamela Valentino, Uyen To, Yanhong Deng, Xuemei Song, Aftab Ala, Michael Schilsky. Major depressive disorder in patients with Wilson Disease. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. Volume 121, June 2019, Page 148. (Abstract)

Update on the Wilson Disease Registry Study – June 2019

We would like to take this opportunity introduce Dr. Ayse Coskun, our new study lead coordinator at Yale, to the Wilson Disease Association membership. Ayse joined us in May 2019 and is working with each of our study sites to help initiate their active patient recruitment. We are pleased that recruitment has already started at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas where Dr. Sanjiv Harpavat has continued the work initiated by Dr. Tamir Miloh. Already three patients were recruited into the study at Baylor, and more will follow. Soon to begin enrollment this Summer are Florida Hospital, led by Dr. Regy Gonzalez, Seattle Childrens under the direction of Dr. Sihoun Hahn, and the Royal Surrey and Kings College Hospitals in the UK where Drs. Aftab Ala and Michelle Camarata are lead investigators.

Overall, 67 patients were enrolled in the registry, thirteen of which are pediatric patients. Recently a summary of the data from the registry was presented at the national meeting of the Wilson Disease Association in May 2019 in New York City and at an international meeting on Wilson Disease held in Aarhus, Denmark later that month. Other research derived from registry data is being presented at a major international psychiatric meeting by Dr. Paula Zimbrean of Yale in July 2019 and new work was submitted for the upcoming national liver meetings in the US in the Fall. Work is continuing towards the development of new methodology for the analysis of copper in the circulation at the Royal Surrey Hospital under the direction of Dr. Chris Harrington, and other exciting work by Dr. Sihoun Hahn on ATP7B protein analysis and molecular sequencing of the Wilson disease gene at Seattle Children’s Hospital is continuing.

We look forward to another productive year of patient enrollment and hope to welcome patients to our newly enrolling registry sites. We thank all our participating patients and families that have so generously donated their time and efforts to make this project a success.

Michael L. Schilsky MD FAASLD, Lead Investigator (Yale)

Ayse Coskun MD, Lead Coordinator (Yale)

Patients are being recruited for a multi-center registry study for patients with Wilson Disease.

This study is being sponsored by the Wilson Disease Association.

Currently, there is no established registry for Wilson disease in the US. Establishing a registry will help us to understand the epidemiology and natural history of Wilson disease. Our hope is that it will enable us to determine best practices for diagnosis and treatment and support new initiatives for research and patient care.

If you choose to participate you will be seen at least every 12 months at the time of your routine visits to the clinic for 5 years. During your visits, you will have some blood work, neurological and psychiatric assessments. These will allow us to assess the whole spectrum of clinical symptoms in Wilson Disease.

The total time commitment for a visit will be about 3 hours.

The Wilson Disease Association has offered an annual $50 stipend to make it easier for you to attend these longer visits. You may be eligible to participate if you meet the following criteria:

  • Male or female, of any age.
  • Have a diagnosis of Wilson Disease.
  • Are undergoing an evaluation for WD, including individuals undergoing family screening.

To discuss possible participation please contact the Yale New-Haven Hospital, Transplant Research Department by calling on (203)376-6043 or emailing ayse.coskun@yale.edu.

Donations

Your support allows the WDA to maintain this website, produce educational materials, support research, and hold meetings for people living with WD, their families, and the healthcare community.

Membership

As a member, you have the opportunity to communicate your concerns, share your experiences, learn about the most recent advances in Wilson disease treatment and research, and contribute to important decisions that need to be made so the WDA can be a strong patient advocacy group

WILSON DISEASE ASSOCIATION

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