Tay-Sachsdisease

Tay-Sachs disease (tāʹsăks') n.

A hereditary disease that affects young children almost exclusively of eastern European Jewish descent, in which an enzyme deficiency leads to the accumulation of gangliosides in the brain and nerve tissue, resulting in mental retardation, convulsions, blindness, and, ultimately, death.

  [After WarrenTay (1843-1927), British physician, and BernardSachs (1858-1944), American neurologist.]

* * *