Long-term follow-up and sudden unexpected death in Gaucher disease type 3 in Egypt

OBJECTIVE: To describe the long-term follow-up and distinct phenotype of a large cohort of patients with Gaucher disease type 3 on enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in Egypt. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 78 patients on ERT who were followed for up to 9 years with yearly evaluations that included EEG and cognitive testing. RESULTS: Of the patients, 73% were homozygous for the L444P GBA1 mutation; all but 7 were neurologically symptomatic. Supranuclear gaze palsy with variable but stable cognitive function was present in 91% of patients. Convergent strabismus and bulbar dysfunction were noted in 22% and 37%, respectively. Features of oppositional defiant disorder were present in 54% of patients. Twenty-three patients (30%) developed seizures while on ERT for 1–9 years. Of those, 12 patients (15%) died suddenly and unexpectedly at a mean age of 6.7 ± 5.0 years (range 1.5–18). Sudden death was usually associated with a seizure disorder or a terminal seizure, but 7 of 12 patients had a preceding normal EEG. An additional 11% had background slowing or epileptogenic activity on EEG without clinical seizures. There were 3 familial cases of sudden unexpected death. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having the most common GBA1 genotype known to be associated with neuronopathic Gaucher disease, patients with Gaucher disease type 3 in Egypt have a phenotype and a clinical outcome on ERT that are very different from those observed in other populations. Identifying putative modifying genes of this ethnic group is likely to lead to better therapy for neuronopathic Gaucher disease generally.