A RARE, SCARY, AND DEADLY DISEASE Tay sachs A RARE, SCARY, AND DEADLY DISEASE

CURIOUSITY TIME First off, what is Tay Sachs? Megaman doesn’t know, but that’s ok! Neither do you!

ANSWER TIME Tay Sachs is a rare, autosomal recessive genetic disorder of the nervous system, which affects mental and physical abilities of the body. Below is a child suffering from the disorder.

CHARACTERISTICS/SYMPTOMS Deafness Blindness Decreased muscle tone Delayed mental and social skills Irritability Loss of motor skills Seizures Slow growth

How is the disorder detected? Tay Sachs is detected through the use of genetic testing, which tells you if you are a carrier of the gene for the disorder.

Who is likely to have it? The first cases of Tay Sachs disease was found among Jewish families. Some carry the genetic mutation that causes it, but don’t develop the full disease. In the Jewish population, 1 in 27 carriers, whereas 1 and 250 in the general population are carriers. Men are equally as affected as women.

For those who are asleep.. Please refrain from other activities that stop you from enjoying this power point, or….

What about the children? A child can only have Tay Sachs disease if both parents are carriers of the gene. When two carriers have a child together, there’s a: 50% chance that the child will be a carrier, but not have the disease 25% chance that the child wont be a carrier and not have the disease 25% chance that the child will have the disease

More about the children.. 16 cases of Tay Sachs diseases are diagnosed in the United States, and almost all of them die from the disease. Many children affected are likely to die at the age of 5.

Interesting Facts The worlds first test tube baby had Tay Sachs. The longest living human with Tay Sachs is 8 years old, who just celebrated her birthday.

REFRENCES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tay%E2%80%93Sachs_disease http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/genetic/tay_sachs.html http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/taysachs/taysachs.htm

That’s all, go home.