By Staff Reporter

Last updated 10:35, Saturday, 10 May 2008

A TWO-YEAR-OLD Cumbrian boy has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

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Love:Taylor Smith with his parents Dave Smith and Stephanie O’Hara

Taylor Smith suffers from the deadly genetic defect Niemann-Pick Type C, known as Children’s Alzheimer’s.

The toddler, from Barrow, will develop senile dementia before he reaches his teens, and the cruel symptoms that can occur at any time will see Taylor lose the skills he is currently developing – from learning to speak to bouncing a ball.

His mum Stephanie described the disease as “like living with a timebomb”.

“We know what’s going to happen and we have to sit back and wait for the symptoms to show. I have to watch out for Taylor becoming clumsy or unsteady on his feet, as these will be the first warning signs,” said the 22-year-old.

“It’s heartbreaking to see Taylor learning all these new skills but knowing they will be taken away from him as the disease sets in. But we are just taking each day as it comes and trying to make Taylor’s life the best it can be.”

Stephanie and her partner, 23-year-old David Smith discovered their son had an enlarged spleen and liver when he was born. But it was not until Taylor was 14 months old, they discovered the devastating news he had inherited the rare disease.

She said: “After Taylor was born, we were referred to a hospital in Birmingham for check-ups and tests to see what was wrong with him.

“Doctors originally thought he had a problem with his liver, but a skin biopsy showed he had Niemann-Pick Type C.”

The disease is caused when each parent carries the faulty gene, and both pass it on to their unborn baby.

There is a 25 per cent chance of both parents passing the gene on.

It causes harmful amounts of fatty substances, known as lipids, to build up in the liver, spleen, bone marrow and the brain.

The disease kills most children before they are 20 and there is no known cure.