Niemann-Pick Type C

What is it?

The name Niemann-Pick

originated from two German

pediatricians

Albert Niemann was the

doctor who first identified

Type A in 1914

and Ludwick Pick identified

Type B in 1927

Niemann-Pick disease is

somewhat like Alzheimer’s

Disease

It is sometimes referred to as The

Childhood Alzheimer's

People with Niemann-Pick Type

C are unable to metabolize

cholesterol in lysosomes

Because of this, extreme

amounts of cholesterol

collect

Within the spleen, liver and brain

Niemann- Pick Type C usually

affects school age children

Although the disease can strike at any time

from early infancy to adulthood

Symptoms include:

an enlarged spleen and/or liver,

jaundice, and difficulty with upward

and downward eye movements

Other symptoms may include:

clumsiness, difficulty with walking,

difficulty with controlling limb movements

and slurred or irregular speech

Learning difficulties,

inability to swallow and

other neurological

abnormalities:

Life expectancy for this disease

is variable depending on the

severity of the symptoms.

In spite of this, life

expectancy after diagnosis is

only 6 - 10 years.

the battles against heart disease, Alzheimer's,

stroke and seizure disorders

Niemann-Pick Type C is

believed to be an important link

in

Children rarely live to see

their 15th birthday.

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