Tay-Sachs trait
The Tay-Sachs trait is the presence of a defective gene for Tay-Sachs disease. People who have the Tay-Sachs trait do not have the disease, but they can pass the gene to their children.
If two people who both have the Tay-Sachs trait have children, each child has a 1-in-4 chance (25%) of having Tay-Sachs disease, a 1-in-2 chance (50%) of having the trait, and a 1-in-4 chance (25%) of having neither the trait nor the disease.
Tay-Sachs disease is a rare inherited disorder in which the body produces little or none of the enzyme hexosaminidase A (hex A). Without hex A, normal fatty compounds (called gangliosides) are not broken down in the body cells and they gradually accumulate and damage brain and nerve cells, making the cells unable to function properly.
A simple blood test can tell whether a person has the Tay-Sachs trait.
| Author | Jeannette Curtis |
| Author | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Last Updated | May 25, 2007 |
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