Gaucher's Disease

Abstract

Introduction More and more cases of Gaucher's disease are being observed and published. On the basis of this accumulating experience it becomes possible to trace the mechanism of inheritance of this condition with more accuracy.^1-4 It is the purpose of this paper to review some of the newer evidence within the framework of previous knowledge and to draw attention to the importance of the new data for eugenic counseling in medical practice and for the light which the hereditary occurrence of this disease may shed on the history and racial composition of the Jewish people. Review of Data 1. The observation that Gaucher's disease occurs in so called "horizontal spread"¹ has been abundantly confirmed. In the large majority of the families which have been described so far, the disease affected brothers and sisters or cousins, whereas only very occasionally a (usually mild) case has been found among the