History of Tay-Sachs Disease

Tay-Sachs disease is named after two physicians. The first was the British physician, Warren Tay, who first described the red spot on the retina that is indicative of the disease in 1881. The second was the American physician, Bernard Sachs, who described the changes that occur within cells. Dr. Sachs also noted an increased prevalence of Tay-Sachs disease in the eastern and central European Jewish (Ashkenazi) population.