<unk>  is a rare, inherited disorder. It causes too much of a fatty substance to build up in tissues and nerve cells of the brain. This buildup destroys the nerve cells, causing mental and physical problems.
Infants with<unk>  appear to develop normally for the first few months of life. Then, as nerve cells become distended with fatty material, mental and physical abilities deteriorate. The child becomes blind, deaf, and unable to swallow. Muscles begin to atrophy and paralysis sets in. Even with the best of care, children with<unk>  usually die by age 4.<unk><unk>  is most common in Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews. A blood test can determine if you carry or have the disease. There is no cure. Medicines and good nutrition can help some symptoms. Some children need feeding tubes.
Tay-Sachs disease
Sneddon-Wilkinson disease
Naxos disease
Fox-Fordyce disease
Cronkhite–Canada disease
Pickardt syndrome
Leigh's disease
Slone's disease