Symptoms Of Tay Sachs Disease

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Imagine having a healthy baby that becomes the joy of your life. As weeks go by, the baby grows and develops, just like it normally should. You witness them as they learn their first step, first words, and many more firsts. Soon over time, your baby starts to show signs of decreasing growth. They stop smiling and start to get startled by even the smallest of noises. At first you think it is nothing but as time goes by, you notice them start to struggle with walking and talking. You bring them to the doctor to have them checked, hoping there is nothing wrong with them. Sadly, the doctor diagnoses them with Tay Sachs, a degenerative neurological disorder that turns many families’ happy lives around. Tay Sachs disease is a rare, inherited disorder…show more content…
The most common and serious form is one that occurs in babies. This is infantile Tay Sachs. Symptoms start showing on the baby when they are around twelve to twenty-four weeks old. Sadly, they usually die at around four or five years old. Juvenile Tay Sachs is a form that occurs in older children. Symptoms usually occur around two to ten years old. These children usually pass away at around fifteen years. The symptoms of chronic Tay Sachs usually develop at around ten years, but this form of the disease progresses slowly. People with this form have a varied life expectancy. Some are able to have a normal lifespan. Last of all the forms is adult Tay Sachs. This is the mildest form. Symptoms start occurring during adolescence or adulthood. The severity of the symptoms and life expectancy will…show more content…
It is caused by an absence of the enzyme Hex-A. There are many types of Tay Sachs, the most known is the infantile form. Symptoms of this disease include blindness, deafness, seizures, paralysis, and eventually death. This disease is most often found in people of eastern European Jewish decent. There is currently no cure for this disease but there is treatment to keep the patient as comfortable as possible. If someone wants to be informed on whether or not they are a carrier of Tay Sachs, they just need to do a blood test. Being informed can keep children from experiencing this terrible disease. Bibliography: * "Tay-Sachs Disease." : Symptoms, Causes & Risk Factors. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 June 2014. <http://www.healthline.com/health/tay-sachs-disease#Overview>. * "Learning About Tay-Sachs Disease." Learning About Tay-Sachs Disease. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2014. <http://www.genome.gov/10001220>. * "Tay-sachs Disease." :: National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association of Delaware Valley (NTSAD-DV). N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2014.

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