Canavan disease is named after Dr. Myrtelle Canavan
Dr. Myrtelle Canavan
Canavan disease is also called aspartoacylase deficiency
It was not until 1949, that Canavan disease was recognized as a unique genetic disease by Van Bogaert and Betrand
People with Canavan disease typically have disproportionately large heads
Some people with Canavan disease may eventually become blind
DNA testing is the only means of identifying carriers of Canavan disease
I was doing a presentation on Canavan Disease and had a lot of trouble finding wether it was dominant or recessive. I found the answer and thought i should make it easier for others. Canavan Disease is recessive
Most infants with Canavan disease appear normal for the first month of life
People of Saudi Arabian descent also have a relatively high risk of Canavan disease
Canavan's disease is a degenerative genetic disease of the brain. Approx 42,000 people in America are carriers and both parents must be carriers to pass it down. in cases where both parents are carriers the child has a 1 in 4 chance of developing the disease. Of those children who do develop Canavan's most die before the age of 4, although there are some rare occurrences of children living to teens. There is no cure and it is progressive so it is 100% fatal at some point.
The credit went to Dr. Canavan because his initial description of the disease dominated the medical literature