Late Onset Tay-Sachs Disease Presenting as a Brief Psychotic Disorder with Catatonia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

This is a case report of late onset Tay-Sachs Disease diagnosed in a 14-year-old male non-Jewish adolescent who presented in a psychotic and catatonic state. The objective is to emphasize that Tay-Sachs disease can present with psychiatric symptoms, with a variety of phenotypes from infancy to adulthood, and can affect individuals other than Ashkenazi Jews. Amphiphilic drugs, including phenothiazine and tricyclic antidepressants, may worsen the course of the illness. Resistant catatonia can respond to an extended trial of high dose lorazepam