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Canavan disease



Can·a·van disease [ ˈka-nə-ˌvan-]



Canavan disease   
noun
[ˈka-nə-ˌvan-]
variants: or less commonly Canavan's disease \ ˈka-​nə-​ˌvanz-​ \

Definition of Canavan disease

: a rare, usually fatal, demyelinating disease of infancy that is characterized by spongy degeneration of the brain caused by an enzyme deficiency and that typically affects individuals of eastern European Jewish ancestry … was diagnosed before he turned 5 months old with Canavan disease—a rare neurological disorder in which genes don't produce the protective myelin in the brain, causing the brain's white matter to degenerate into spongy tissue riddled with microscopic fluid-filled spaces.— Burt Constable

Note: Canavan disease is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait requiring that both parents pass on a copy of the defective gene on a chromosome other than a sex chromosome.




First Known Use of Canavan disease

1965, in the meaning defined above



History and Etymology for Canavan disease

after Myrtelle May Canavan †1953 U.S. pathologist



Dictionary Entries near Canavan disease