Potential Causes And Risk Factors For An Enlarged Spleen

Gaucher's Disease

Type 1 Gaucher’s disease is the kind responsible for an enlarged spleen. Fortunately, it is a rare disease that only affects about six thousand individuals in the United States. It occurs when an individual inherits a mutated gene from both parents. The Type 1 form of the disease is the most common. Besides having an enlarged spleen, Gaucher’s disease patients bruise and bleed easily because they have an abnormally low amount of blood platelets, which are small bodies that form blood clots at the site of an injury. The blood supply to the bones of Gaucher's disease patients is insufficient, which leads to pain, deformity, weakening and degeneration in their bones. This makes them more at risk of fractures.