Home > Encyclopedia of Children's Health > Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome

Definition

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a rare inherited disorder marked by a low level of blood platelets, eczema, recurrent infections, and a high risk of leukemia or lymph node tumors.

Description

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) was named for the two physicians who reported the disorder. In 1937, A. Wiskott, a physician working in Munich, described two affected boys of German ancestry who had repeated infections, a skin rash, and poor blood-clotting ability. Nearly twenty years later, R. A. Aldrich reported similar symptoms in members of an American family of Dutch ancestry.

WAS is inherited as an X-linked genetic disorder and thus only affects males. The gene responsible for WAS is located on the...