Scheie’s syndrome

Scheie’s syndrome, uncommon hereditary metabolic disease characterized by clawing of the hands, corneal clouding, incompetence of the aortic valve of the heart, and painful nerve compression in the wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome). The disease was described by Harold Scheie of the United States in 1962 and is a mild variant of Hurler’s syndrome (MPS I H), a disorder associated with subnormal intelligence and dwarfism. Persons with Scheie’s syndrome, in contrast, usually attain normal height and intelligence and can expect a normal life span, rare in Hurler’s disease. Both syndromes are caused by a recessively inherited defect in the enzyme alpha-L-iduronidase, which is important in the development of connective tissues. A related condition is Hurler-Scheie syndrome (MPS I H S), which causes dwarfism, progressive blindness, deafness, and heart failure.