Ophthalmological findings in Gaucher disease

Gaucher disease is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the gene GBA1, which encodes the lysosomal protein glucocerebrosidase. Patients with Gaucher disease generally have a variety of clinical manifestations ranging from visceral to neurological involvement and some develop ocular involvement. The most commonly affected organs include the spleen, liver, and bone. Moreover, patients often have hepatosplenomegaly, thrombocytopenia, anemia, and bone involvement related to deficient glucocerebrosidase and the subsequent accumulation of glucosylceramide and glucosylsphingosine in cells. A subset of patients develops neurological manifestations, including seizures, myoclonic epilepsy, and progressive neurodegeneration. Eye involvement tends to be less common and presents with diverse clinical findings. These rare and variable ocular manifestations, involving the vitreous, retina, cornea, uvea, conjunctiva and eye movements, can pose a diagnostic challenge for clinicians, especially those not familiar with the disorder. In this review, we explore the different ophthalmologic findings reported in patients with Gaucher disease, aiming to facilitate diagnosis and expedite treatment for patients presenting with ocular manifestations of this rare disorder.