Coutinho, Maria FranciscaAlves, Sandra2016-03-012019-01-012015-08-18Mol Genet Metab. 2016 Feb;117(2):53-65. doi: 10.1016/j.ymgme.2015.08.008. Epub 2015 Aug 181096-7192http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/3555Sixty years after its discovery, the lysosome is no longer considered as cell's waste bin but as an organelle playing a central role in cell metabolism. Besides its well known association with lysosomal storage disorders (mostly rare and life-threatening diseases), recent data have shown that the lysosome is also a player in some of the most common conditions of our time; and, perhaps even most important, it is not only a target for orphan drugs (rare disease therapeutic approaches) but also a putative target to treat patients suffering from common complex diseases worldwide. Here we review the striking associations linking rare lysosomal storage disorders such as the well-known Gaucher disease, or even the recently discovered, extremely rare Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis-11 and some of the most frequent, multifaceted and complex disorders of modern society such as cancer, Parkinson's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration.engCancerFrontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD)Gaucher Disease (GD)Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSDs)Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (NCL)Doenças Genéticasjournal article10.1016/j.ymgme.2015.08.008