sex-linked hereditary disease in which a deficiency in the enzyme alpha-galactosidase A results in abnormal deposits of a glycosphingolipid (ceramide trihexoside) in the blood vessels. These deposits in turn produce heart and kidney disturbances resulting in a marked reduction in life expectancy. Distinctive clusters of dark red granules in the skin on the abdomen and knees of victims led early students of the disease to consider it a skin disorder, as the alternative name reflects; later findings indicated the kidney involvement and blood lipid deposits that are the more significant characteristics of the disease. Treatment attempts have been aimed primarily at relief of the intense burning pain typical of the disease. Kidney failure is the most common cause of death, which occurs at an average age of 40 in the predominantly male victims.
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