INTRODUCING
A multidisciplinary approach to treatment of Fabry disease is recommended.
What disease-specific therapies are available for patients with Fabry disease?
The long-term management of patients with Fabry disease includes timely treatment of symptoms and regular assessment of disease progression. The goal of Fabry disease treatment is to prevent irreversible tissue damage and organ failure. It is recommended that treatment assessments and follow-up visits are supervised by a physician experienced in Fabry disease, if possible, with input from a multidisciplinary team that includes a cardiologist, genetic counsellor, medical geneticist, nephrologist, neurologist, nurse and psychologist.1
Currently there are two intravenous enzyme replacement therapies available for the treatment of Fabry disease: agalsidase alfa and agalsidase beta.2,3 Additionally, one oral chaperone therapy, migalastat, is available for patients diagnosed with Fabry disease and who have an amenable variant.4The availability of treatments differs between countries. For further information, please consult your local prescribing information.
The international PRoposing Early Disease Indicators for Clinical Tracking in Fabry Disease (PREDICT-FD) modified Delphi initiative (funded by Shire, now part of Takeda) aimed to determine when to initiate or stop Fabry disease-specific treatment (enzyme replacement therapy or chaperone therapy) in different patient groups in a variety of scenarios. According to expert consensus, Fabry disease-specific treatment should be initiated in5:
The panel agreed that Fabry disease-specific therapy should not be initiated in asymptomatic female patients with late-onset Fabry disease.5
*Consensus criteria for the initiation and withdrawal of enzyme replacement therapy were published in 2015 by the EFWG. The recommendations generally applied to males and females with classical Fabry disease and males with late-onset Fabry disease, and indicated that treatment should be initiated when clinical signs of central nervous system, heart or kidney involvement, gastrointestinal symptoms or pain first occur. It was also recommended that males aged ≤16 years with classical Fabry disease with no signs or symptoms of organ involvement and females with late-onset Fabry disease exhibiting early clinical disease signs could be considered for treatment initiation. The initiation and continuation of Fabry disease-specific treatment was suggested to be considered on an individual basis, and recommendations were made to not initiate treatment in some scenarios (e.g. patients with end-stage renal disease with no option of renal transplant, those with advanced heart failure or those with severe cognitive decline).5,6
In addition to Fabry-disease specific therapy, supportive care and symptomatic treatment are broadly recognised as important supplementary options in the management of patients with Fabry disease.1,7
How can patients with Fabry disease be monitored?
Following diagnosis, it is recommended that each organ system be comprehensively investigated in patients with Fabry disease. Patients should be monitored at relevant intervals, such that disease progression can be appropriately captured. For patients administered Fabry disease-specific therapy, it is recommended that the impact of treatment on all affected organ systems should be routinely assessed (Table 1).1
Table 1.
Recommendations for assessment and monitoring of organ systems in adult patients with Fabry disease. Reproduced with permission from Ortiz A et al. Mol Genet Metab 2018; 123: 416-427.1,8-13
Are you familiar with the therapeutic goals of treatment of Fabry disease?
QUESTION
Let us know your opinion
C-ANPROM/INT/FAB/0151; Date of preparation: February 2022
What are the recommend therapeutic goals in patients with Fabry disease?
The main recommended therapeutic goals for patient management of Fabry disease are to optimise disease-specific and non-specific symptomatic treatments to prevent or minimise the effects of organ damage, prevent clinical events, and control symptoms. Published in 2018, organ-specific therapeutic goals were developed by a European group of experts and are shown in Table 2.14
Table 2. Recommended therapeutic goals for clinical manifestations of Fabry disease. Reproduced with permission from Wanner C et al. Mol Genet Metab 2018; 124: 189-203.14
Having read the content above, will you actively utilise these therapeutic goals when developing treatment plans for your patients with Fabry disease?
QUESTION
Let us know your opinion
C-ANPROM/INT/FAB/0151; Date of preparation: February 2022
C-ANPROM/INT/FAB/0017; Date of preparation: March 2021
DISEASE MANAGEMENT
Can the manifestations of Fabry disease be managed symptomatically?
Optimal management of Fabry disease can include symptomatic treatment in conjunction with disease-specific therapy, if indicated.
DISEASE MANAGEMENT
Should patients with Fabry disease receive support and counselling?
Support and counselling is recommended throughout the process of diagnosis, investigation and therapy for patients with Fabry disease and their families.
Disease management
How can Fabry disease be diagnosed?
Genetic testing can confirm and support a diagnosis in females and males, respectively. The α-Gal A enzyme assay can diagnose Fabry disease in males.
Register
Registration gives the benefit of site update emails and additional information on new education materials and events