Treatments for Niemann-Pick B disease, Metachromatic leukodystrophy and α-mannosidosis are at the preclinical stage (Table ​(Table22). Table 2 Lysosomal Storage Diseases treated with ERT.

Studies carried out so far have proved a consistent positive effect of ERT on Fabry patients substantially modifying their natural history; in particular reduction of neuropathic pain, improvement of renal, myocardial and nerve fiber functions have been shown. Intravenous administration of α-L-iduronidase resulted in clinical and biochemical improvement of patients with MPS IH-S and MPI Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical IS, ameliorating their range of shoulder motion and elbow extension. Patients showed an increase of growth rate and a reduction of glycosaminoglycans in the urine. Hepatosplenomegaly decreased significantly, the number of incidents of apnea and hypopnea during sleep decreased, New York Heart Association functional class improved by one or two classes. It is convenient to point out that the

use of ERT is advisable only in the types of LSD without mental retardation, since the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical selleck chemicals llc exogenous enzyme does not cross the hematoencephalic barrier and so would be uneffective in patients with mental retardation Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical (Hurler syndrome, Sanfilippo syndrome, Tay-Sachs syndrome, etc.). The treatment efficacy of MPS II with α-L-iduronate sulphatase has been tested in a phase I/II clinical trial on twelve patients, and afterwards in an open label extension study. There was a decrease of the excretion of glycosaminoglycans in the urine, the volume of liver and spleen decreased, the six-minute walk test improved, and the range of joint motion increased. Recombinant human N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulphatase Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical (arylsulphatase B) available for the treatment of Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome (MPS VI) proved to be efficient in reducing the urinary glycosaminoglycans, improving the ability of the patients to walk, increasing the range of shoulder motion, and reducing the joint pain. Finally, ERT was successful in the treatment of Pompe disease, with

the extension of life span for Pompe patients Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical with the infantile-onset form to more than four years, and significant improvement of general conditions and walking ability in Pompe patients with the late-onset form. Other Therapeutic Approaches ERT proved to be effective and highly beneficial Cell press in treating lysosomal storage diseases; in addition, great effort has been made to develop novel strategies to be used either alone or in combination with ERT. An approach to the treatment of some LSDs is the use of substances able to inhibit the storage of specific metabolites, by depriving the lysosomes of the undegraded substance. In particular, this therapeutic strategy, called substrate reduction therapy (SRT), was first used in Gaucher disease, and recently it has been tested in Fabry disease and GM1 and GM2 Gangliosidoses, as well.