Demystifying Tay Sachs Disease

This video will provide some background knowledge on Tay-Sachs disease. This is a rare disease that is inherited, and this video will shed light on the symptoms, risk groups, what happens in neurons, and future treatments. This disease is prevalent in young children and has no cure, so it is fatal. We start with a story about a baby with Tay-Sachs disease based on a real-life situation.

Story – 0:00
What is Tay-Sachs – 1:56
Risk groups – 3:55
Preventative measures – 4:30
Molecular mechanism – 5:23
Gene therapy – 6:35

This video was made by McMaster University students Kai Er Yang, Danielle Zak, Abdullah Zahid, in collaboration with the Demystifying Medicine McMaster Program.

Music from Animaker, copyright free.

This video is provided for general and educational information only. Please consult your health care provider for information about your health.

Copyright McMaster University 2024

References:

Myerowitz, R., & Costigan, F. C. (1988). The major defect in Ashkenazi Jews with Tay-Sachs disease is an insertion in the gene for the alpha-chain of beta-hexosaminidase. The Journal of biological chemistry., 263(35), 18587–18589.