Tay-Sachs disease

[tey-saks]

noun

Pathology.

1. a rare fatal hereditary disease, occurring chiefly in infants and children, especially of eastern European Jewish origin, characterized by a red spot on the retina, gradual blindness, and paralysis.

Tay-Sachs disease

/ ˌteɪˈsæks /

noun

1. an inherited disorder, caused by a faulty recessive gene, in which lipids accumulate in the brain, leading to mental retardation and blindness. It occurs mostly in Ashkenazi Jews

Tay-Sachs disease

1. A genetic disease in which the products of fat metabolism accumulate in the nervous system, causing retardation, paralysis, and death by preschool age. Individuals of eastern European Jewish descent have a higher risk of inheriting Tay-Sachs disease. The disease is named after its describers, British ophthalmologist Warren Tay (1843–1927) and American neurologist Bernard Sachs (1858–1944).

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tay-Sachs disease¹

1920–25; named after W. Tay (1843–1927), English physician, and B. Sachs (1858–1944), American neurologist

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tay-Sachs disease¹

C20: named after W. Tay (1843–1927), British physician, and B. Sachs (1858–1944), US neurologist

Example Sentences

Tay-Sachs disease, the more common of the two disorders, typically manifests within the first year of life, progressing quickly and often proving fatal within a few years.

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A child with Tay-Sachs disease can appear radiantly healthy as a newborn but begins an inexorable decline by six months.

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Disabled by late-onset Tay-Sachs disease, a neurological condition, she had been hospitalized with an uncertain prognosis.

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Two babies have received the first-ever gene therapy for Tay-Sachs disease after over 14 years of development.

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In her third memoir, Emily Rapp Black writes of tentatively, painfully regaining her footing after losing her son to Tay-Sachs disease.

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