There is no treatment for Tay-Sachs disease itself, only ways to make the patient more comfortable.

The stress of illness may be eased by joining support groups whose members share common experiences and problems. See Tay-Sachs - support group.

Children with this disease have symptoms that get worse over time. They usually die by age 4 or 5.

Symptoms appear during the first 3 to 10 months of life and progress to spasticity, seizures, and loss of all voluntary movements.

Go to the emergency room or call the local emergency number (such as 911) if your child has a seizure of unknown cause, if the seizure is different from previous seizures, if the child has difficulty breathing, or if the seizure lasts longer than 2 - 3 minutes.

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if your child experiences a seizure lasting less than 2 - 3 minutes or has other noticeable behavioral changes.

Review Date: 11/17/2010
Reviewed By: Kevin Sheth, MD, Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)