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Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Research Paper

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In 1886 Progeria disease was described by Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson and in 1897 by Dr. Hastings Gilford in England. Later they named the disease after the two doctors that discovered it, "Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome". Many Doctors didn’t really try to research more into it since it’s a very rare disease that only affects one in four to eight million newborns. Many doctors didn't know about it and started to take more interest and trying to figure out what was Progeria and why it happens. It wasn’t until the 1900's that they actually started to do more research.
Progeria is a rare, fatal genetic condition characterized by an appearance of accelerated aging in children. It is caused by a mutation in the gene called LMNA which produces …show more content…

Some of the many symptoms include; hair loss, wrinkled skin, stunted growth, heart attack, small and usual facial features, osteoporosis, loss of sight, loss of hearing, dental abnormalities, big head, and joint abnormalities. The cause of the appearance of bulged head too large for the rest of the face is a hallmark of Progeria. One of the reasons why that happens is because the children’s fontanelle with Progeria remains open. Fontanelles are soft spots in a newborns head that are caused by gaps between the plates of the bone in the skull that is supposed to later close together. People with the disease are still able to conceive, but to this day there hasn’t been one to even try.
Children affected with Progeria usually don't live past 14 years old. The cause of their death is always do to a heart attack or stroke. The biggest risk for a child that has Progeria is the development of atherosclerosis. The hardening of their arteries begins in early childhood and becomes life threatening in their teen age years. There have been a couple of them that live up to in their 20's but is a very low chance of that to …show more content…

Weighing only about 10 pounds and having a body of a 160 year old, Andrew held a big personality and always stayed positive about his condition. He didn't let Progeria keep him from living life. If anything Andrew lived his life to the fullest. He took part of a lot of after school activities, played hockey, skateboard, ride his bike, and even did swimming competitions. At the age of 15 his legs started to hurt when lifting them up and were no long able to peddle. Andrew was a big fan of fast cars and always had the idea that he would someday be able to drive. At the age of 17 he took driving lessons and passed his driving test the first try .He wanted to live every moment he could and be a "normal" teenager. Later down the road Andrew fell in love with a girl named Emily and they ended up getting engaged. Even though the relationship didn't work out he still kept an optimistic attitude towards life. In 2011 Andrew was diagnosed with irreversible heart failure which he now has to spend his days at home with special care. He's no longer able to do all the things he used to, but at least he can say that he lived his life to the fullest. People think that by having Progeria they are unable to do normal everyday activities. Dean Andrew is a good example. Until this day he’s still fighting for his

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