Final answer:
Tay-Sachs disease most commonly affects children aged 0-5 years due to its severe neurological impact. It is an autosomal recessive disorder, and children with the disease typically do not live beyond five. Parents who are carriers must understand the risk of passing on the disease to their offspring.
Step-by-step explanation:
The most common age range affected by Tay-Sachs disease is 0-5 years. Tay-Sachs disease is an autosomal recessive disorder that impacts the brain and nervous system, leading to severe neurological damage. Children who inherit two copies of the mutated gene responsible for Tay-Sachs typically do not live beyond the age of five, indicating the answer to the question is (a) 0-5 years.
Genetic screening can reveal if a couple are carriers of the Tay-Sachs gene. Since carriers do not show symptoms of the disease, they may be unaware of their carrier status until screened. If both partners carry the recessive gene, they must confront the issue that their children have a 25% chance of being affected by Tay-Sachs with each pregnancy, requiring serious consideration and possibly seeking genetic counseling.
A child becomes affected with Tay-Sachs by inheriting two copies of the recessive gene, one from each parent. If just one copy of the gene is inherited, the child is a carrier like the parents and does not show symptoms of the disease.