The sphiningolipidoses: an overview.

Abstract

An outline of the pathways of catabolism of four sphingolipids to ceramide, along with structural details of a few constituents, serves as a framework for better understanding of the sphingolipidoses. The four sphingolipids are sulfatide, sphingomyelin, globoside, and ganglioside GM1. Diseases which can be incorporated into the scheme include Niemann-Pick disease, Gaucher disease, metachromatic leukodystrophy, Krabbe disease, ceramide lactoside lipidosis, Tay-Sachs disease, generalized gangliosidosis, Fabry disease, and Sandhoff disease. Fucosidosis probably also belongs with this group. GM3 (hematoside) sphingolipodystrophy involves blocks in synthetic rather than catabolic pathways.