A teenage boy presents to your office with a history of decreasing school performance and increasingly labile mood. Mom states he seems “confused” much of the time. On Physical Exam he is jaundiced, tall and thin, has mild hepatomegaly and slit-lamp exam shows Kayser-Fleisher rings in both eyes. Laboratory evaluation would most likely show which abnormality:
A. Absence of albumin
B. Excessive albumin
C. Decreased ceruloplasmin
D. Increased ceruloplasmin
E. Hepatic cell in the blood
C. Decreased ceruloplasmin
The symptoms described, including Kayser-Fleischer rings, jaundice, and hepatomegaly, suggest Wilson’s disease, a genetic disorder characterized by copper accumulation. Decreased ceruloplasmin levels in the blood are a common finding in this condition.