How does Zavesca treat type 1 Gaucher disease?
In people with type 1 Gaucher disease, the body has an excess of certain types of fatty substances called glycosphingolipids (gli-coh-sfing-goh-lip-ids), also called GSL.1 Normally, the body produces GSL and certain enzymes break it down. In people with type 1 Gaucher disease there’s either not enough of the enzyme or it doesn’t work properly, so the fatty substances build up in the body’s cells over time—causing serious problems in parts of the body like the liver, spleen, lungs, and bones.1 Zavesca reduces the harmful buildup of the fatty substances by reducing the amount of GSL that the body produces. This way the enzymes you to have are able break down the fatty substances, so that it decreases the harmful accumulation. Zavesca also helps increase the ability of the natural enzyme in your body to work more effectively to remove the GSLs.
