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Tay Sachs disease (TSD) What is TSD? TSD is a rare hereditary disease caused by a genetic mutation that leaves the body unable to produce an enzyme (hex A) necessary for fat metabolism in nerve cells, producing central nervous system degeneration. The disease is named for a British ophthalmologist, Warren Tay, who first described the disease, in 1881, and a New York neurologist, Bernard Sachs, who first described the cellular changes and the genetic nature of the disease, in 1887. Tay-Sachs Disease is a fatal disorder of infancy. The most common form of the disease affects babies. Affected babies appear healthy at birth and seem to develop normally for the first few months of life. After this time, development slows and symptoms begin. Symptoms of classical Tay-Sachs disease first appear at 4 to 6 months of age when an apparently healthy baby gradually stops smiling, crawling or turning over, loses its ability to grasp or reach out and, eventually, becomes blind, paralyzed and unaware of its surroundings. Death occurs by age 5. Are there other forms or types of diseases as TSD? A much rarer form of the disorder which occurs in patients in their twenties and early thirties is characterized by unsteadiness of gait and progressive neurological deterioration. Patients with Tay-Sachs have a "cherry-red" spot in the back of their eyes. The condition is caused by insufficient activity of an enzyme hex A. TSD snd the allied diseases are genetic conditions classified as storage diseases. They are caused by the abnormal accumulation, or storage, of certain waste products in the cells or tissues of affected individuals. As these products build up, cells become damaged and gradually lose their ability to function properly, causing disease symptoms.
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