Tay-Sachs
By Jeremiah & Jeremiah 2
A Deadly Disorder/Autosomal Recessive
The Average age of onset
Symptoms
Characteristics
Treatments
There is no effective treatment for Tay-Sachs disease. As with other fatal diseases, treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms and making the child and family comfortable
Common for Children
In the most common form of the condition, symptoms usually begin at around six months of age, when a previously normal child's development begins to slow and they gradually lose their ability to move. The most noticeable early symptoms include a child being excessively startled by sudden noises and red dots appearing near the middle of the eyes.
The child will then develop problems such as muscle weakness, increasing loss of vision, loss of hearing and seizures.Most children with the condition die by the age of three to five years.Less common forms of Tay-Sachs disease can begin later in childhood or even early adulthood. These usually progress less rapidly than the disease seen in very young children. However, only in rare cases is life expectancy not affected.