Gaucher disease type I is a treatable lysosomal storage disease leading to hepatosplenomegaly, anemia and thrombocytopenia, and skeletal involvement including osteoporosis, osteonecrosis, lytic lesions and Erlenmeyer flask deformity. Gaucher disease type II presents in infancy with severe neurologic and visceral involvement but without skeletal manifestations. Type III presents as Type I but with the addition of neurologic involvement. Inheritance is autosomal recessive. Type I Gaucher is common in the Ashkenazi Jewish population, with a prevalence of 1/450 – 1/1000.

Molecular testing for these mutations will identify approximately 96% of alleles associated with Gaucher disease in the Ashkenazi Jewish population and approximately 70% of alleles in the non-Askenazi Jewish Caucasian population.