The disease is named after Warren Tay and Bernard Sachs who first described the disease in the late 19th century. After the discovery, he noticed a red spot on the retina of a one year old child. The child was experiencing the same symptoms of the disease. Bernard Sachs was a neurologist from the United States. He was the first person to describe the cellular changes from the disease. In 1969, researchers discovered that Tay-Sachs is caused by a lack of the enzyme Hexosaminidase A. 