Webinar: COVID-19 and Fabry Disease

Heather Lau, MD, Director of the Lysosomal Storage Disease Program at NYU Langone Health provides an overview of how to manage a person with a Fabry disease during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Fabry disease an X-linked inherited disorder that results from the buildup of a particular type of fat, globotriaosylceramide, in the body’s cells.

Characteristic features of Fabry disease include episodes of pain, particularly in the hands and feet (acroparesthesias); clusters of small, dark red spots on the skin called angiokeratomas; a decreased ability to sweat (hypohidrosis); cloudiness of the front part of the eye (corneal opacity); problems with the gastrointestinal system; ringing in the ears (tinnitus); and hearing loss. Fabry disease also involves potentially life-threatening complications such as progressive kidney damage, heart attack, and stroke. Some affected individuals have milder forms of the disorder that appear later in life and affect only the heart or kidneys.

Due to the large variance in symptoms seen in Fabry disease patients, clinicians treating them for COVID-19 need to be aware of the multiple organs affected by Fabry disease in how it relates to COVID-19 management.

In this webinar, Dr. Lau explains the:
• Multisystemic manifestations of COVID-19
• Multisystemic manifestations of Fabry disease
• Impact of COVID19 on Fabry disease
• Impact of COVID19 on access to therapy
• Exposure to COVID-19. What to do?
• Ethical considerations of COVID-19 in Fabry disease patients

[AF-mqxb]

I really wish you'd change the wording on the description of late onset Fabry. It isn't always "milder" just because it manifests later.