Sanfilippo syndrome

Sanfilippo syndrome, also called mucopolysaccharidosis type III or MPS III, is a rare lifelong genetic disease that mainly affects the brain and spinal cord. It arises from a problem in how the body breaks down large sugar molecules known as glycosaminoglycans, which then build up and damage the central nervous system and other organ systems. Children usually seem well at birth. As they grow they may have trouble learning new things and can lose skills they had already gained, and later seizures and movement disorders may appear. Most affected children live into adolescence or early adulthood.