Metabolic Diseases
Hurler syndrome, Gaucher diseases, and some other infections that affect metabolism cause the enlargement of the spleen. These infiltrator diseases cause the spleen to behave abnormally and as a disease that affects metabolism invariably affects the spleen. Abnormal protein deposits and seen in amyloidosis and sarcoidosis cause the spleen to enlarge. The excessive protein deposits cause congestion in the spleen leading to a slowdown of the filtering process and therefore spleen enlargement. Niemann-pick disease [6] is another metabolic ailment that affects the spleen. It severely affects the metabolic processes by limiting the body’s ability to process fat inside cells, leading to clogged cells and cell death. These destroyed cells need to be removed by the spleen and rapid cell destruction will lead to spleen enlargement.