For type 1 and most type 3 patients, enzyme replacement treatment with intravenous recombinant glucocerebrosidase (imiglucerase) can dramatically decrease liver and spleen size, reduce skeletal abnormalities, and reverse other manifestations.
This treatment costs up to $550,000 annually for a single patient and should be continued for life. The rarity of the disease means that dose-finding studies have been difficult to conduct, so there remains controversy over the optimal dose and dosing frequency.
Type 2 Gaucher's disease shows no particular preference for any ethnic group. Type 3 Gaucher's disease is especially common in the population of the Northern Swedish region of Norrbotten where the incidence of the disease is 1 in 50,000.
Further Reading
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