What causes Tay-Sachs disease?
Tay-Sachs disease is an autosomal recessive disease. If you inherit from both parents a changed (mutated) gene that can cause Tay-Sachs, you will get the disease. If you inherit the gene from only one parent, you are a carrier, meaning that you carry the gene for Tay-Sachs but do not get the disease. • To inherit the classical or infantile form, you must inherit from both parents the gene that cannot produce hex A (inactive hex A gene). • In late-onset Tay-Sachs disease (LOTS), the hex A gene is altered so that it produces a small amount of hex A. If you have LOTS, you inherited two late-onset hex A genes or one late-onset and one inactive gene.
