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Tay-Sachs Disease

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:02 pm
by soundout9
I had to do a project for biology class. Learn about it :wink:

General Description

There are 3 types of Tay Sachs. Infantile, Juvenile and adult. A noticeable characteristic are cherry-red spots on the retina of babies with the problem. Babies born with Tay-Sachs usually start to notice around 3-6 months. The disease is very noticeable because of the course of a few years the child loses the ability to see, hear, and move. Then death sets in around age 5. The only way to get Tay-Sachs is if both of your parents are carriers of the the gene. Meaning there is a gene disorder. The gene is sex-linked, and the gene is recessive. Tay-Sachs is caused by a mutation in Hex A gene on the 15th chromosome

Symptoms
Infantile symptoms are usually noticed at age 3-6 months. They tend to lose any motor and mental skills they already had and lose anymore that should be developing at this time. Following this is paralyses and death by age 5
Juvenile’s symptoms start at about age 5 and symptoms similar to infantile. The progression however is slower.
Adult Tay-Sachs symptoms include:
• Deafness
• Decreased eye contact, blindness
• Decreased muscle tone (loss of muscle strength)
• Delayed mental and social skills
• Dementia
• Increased startle reaction
• Irritability
• Listlessness
• Loss of motor skills
• Paralysis or loss of muscle function
• Seizures
• Slow growth

Incidence Rates
Tay Sachs is most common in Jews of Eastern Europe descent. 1 in every 27 Jews in the US is thought to be a carrier of Tay Sachs. The incidence of Tay Sachs carriers is about 1 in 250. Every year 27 people in the US are diagnosed with the Tay-Sachs disease. It appears in males and females just the same. The only way to be fool proof your child does not end up with the disease is to get a blood test to screen you and your partners for this disease.

Current Treatments
There is no cure or effective treatment for Tay-Sachs disorder. The only thing you can do for people with the disease is make them as comfortable as possible.

Resources Used
*http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/taysachs/taysachs.htmAddress 2
*http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/genetic/tay_sachs.html
*http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=taysachsdisease
*http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001417.htm
*http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/238/main.html


It's sad how you will die from this disease and nothing doctors can do to stop or slow it.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:04 pm
by -ShadySoul-
you deserve an A


i think.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:08 pm
by soundout9
-ShadySoul- wrote:you deserve an A


i think.

i did everything that was on the evaluation sheet :wink:

We had to share these (i just copy and pasted that info from my brochure....that was the project, to make a brochure) and my friends made fun of me because I said that this occured in one and every 27 JEWS :lol:

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:08 pm
by DaGip
That disease would suck...you only live to the age of five. The sooner we perfect genetic medicine the better. Are you studying genetics, soundout?

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:09 pm
by Sir. Ricco
:shock: I'm scared now

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:27 pm
by soundout9
DaGip wrote:That disease would suck...you only live to the age of five. The sooner we perfect genetic medicine the better. Are you studying genetics, soundout?

We studied how DNA and cells and all the shit works but not really into a ton of detail.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:31 pm
by InkL0sed
Sir. Ricco wrote::shock: I'm scared now


Are both your parents Eastern European Jews? Do both of them have a history of Tay Sachs in your family? Cause if the answer is "no" to either of those questions, you have almost nothing to worry about. Worry about AIDS more. :D

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:33 pm
by suggs
I want to catch something that i might be ashamed of 8)

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 6:59 pm
by soundout9
InkL0sed wrote:
Sir. Ricco wrote::shock: I'm scared now


Are both your parents Eastern European Jews? Do both of them have a history of Tay Sachs in your family? Cause if the answer is "no" to either of those questions, you have almost nothing to worry about. Worry about AIDS more. :D

Hey someone learned something from it :D