Pulmonary involvement of Gaucher's disease in children: a common presentation in Saudi Arabia

Throwing a spotlight on under-recognized manifestations of Gaucher disease: Pulmonary involvement, lymphadenopathy and Gaucheroma

BACKGROUND

Gaucher disease (GD) is a rare lysosomal storage disorder classically subdivided into type 1 (non-neuronopathic) GD, and types 2 and 3 (neuronopathic) GD. It is typically characterized by clinical manifestations including anemia, thrombocytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, bone lesions, and (in more severe forms) neurological impairment. However, less-commonly reported and often under-recognized manifestations exist, which potentially have a significant impact on patient outcomes. Greater efforts are needed to understand, recognize, and manage these manifestations.

OBJECTIVES

This review provides a synthesis of published information about three under-recognized GD manifestations (pulmonary involvement, lymphadenopathy, and Gaucheroma) and recommends diagnostic, management, and treatment strategies based on the available literature and author experience. The authors aim to raise awareness about these serious, progressive, and sometimes life-threatening conditions, which are often diagnosed late in life.

CONCLUSIONS

Little is known about the incidence, pathophysiology, prognostic factors, and optimal management of pulmonary involvement, lymphadenopathy, and Gaucheroma in patients with GD. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has shown limited efficacy for the prevention and treatment of these manifestations. More research is needed to evaluate the potential effect of substrate reduction therapy (SRT) with glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) inhibitors, and to develop additional approaches to treat these GD manifestations. Improvements in data collection registries and international data-sharing are required to better understand the impact of these manifestations on GD patients, help develop effective management strategies, and, ultimately, improve patient outcomes.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for treating severe lung involvement in Gaucher disease

Objective

To provide strategies for monitoring and treating severe lung involvement in Gaucher disease.

Study design

We reviewed the chart of a 5-year-old boy who developed rapidly progressive, severe infiltrative lung involvement of Gaucher disease (GD) and improved after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), along with other case studies reported before December 2019. He was diagnosed with GD (homozygous mutation at c.1448 T > C, p.L483P), and started receiving enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) at 17 months old. He developed respiratory distress symptoms after 45 months of ERT; chest imaging reported diffuse interstitial infiltration of the bilateral lungs and consolidations at the right lungs. Allogeneic HSCT using cells from a matched unrelated donor was performed four months upon progressive respiratory symptoms.

Results

His respiratory symptoms subsided in one month; chest imaging improvement, pulmonary function test improvement, and normalized activity of β-glucocerebrosidase were reported in three months.

Conclusion

This is the first report of a patient who received early and regular ERT but developed severe infiltrative lung involvement and recovered after allogeneic HSCT. Based on study results, we suggest regular chest imaging, even for asymptomatic patients. For patients with severe lung involvement, rapid deterioration, and unresponsive to higher ERT dosages, allogeneic HSCT should be considered.

Pulmonary hemorrhage in type 3 Gaucher disease: a case report

A 2-year-old boy with type 3 Gaucher disease (GD) on treatment with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) was found dead in bed having been apparently well the night before. At the time of diagnosis, he had significant respiratory symptoms (severe and persistent bouts of coughing) that had been attributed to Gaucher lung infiltration and that were controlled by inhaled and orally administered steroids. These symptoms had begun to reappear just prior to death. Postmortem revealed extensive pulmonary hemorrhage and intra-alveolar collections of Gaucher cells. There was very little evidence of GD elsewhere. Death was ascribed to pulmonary hemorrhage secondary to GD. The pathogenesis was unclear. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of isolated pulmonary hemorrhage secondary to GD and may represent a hitherto unrecognized complication of this condition. Given the apparent temporal relationship, we propose that it represented a severe, terminal event in the course of Gaucher lung disease.

Bilateral lung transplant in Gauchers type-1 disease

We report a case of a patient who received a bilateral lung transplant for end-stage lung disease secondary to Gauchers type-1 disease with no evidence of recurrence of the disease in the transplanted lung.