Progeria

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome other wise known as “Progeria”, or “HGPS”, is a very rare, and fatal genetic disorder characterized by an appearance of accelerated aging in young children. The rate of aging is accelerated up to seven times that of a normal life span in first 13 years of life. Progeria comes from the Greek word (πρό), “pro” meaning premature and (γῆρας), “gerias” meaning old age. While there are different forms of Progeria, the most sever form of progeria is formally known as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, which was named after the doctors in England: in 1886 by Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson who described the syndrome, and by Dr. Hastings Gilford who independently discovered it in 1904 (Jameson).

This Disorder can occur at any age and affects approximately eight percent of the adult population.

Progeria is one of the least known genetic disorders. There are two types of Progeria, the only difference being the age group that it affects. The Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome is commonly called Childhood Progeria. The second type of Progeria is Werner’s Syndrome, which is the adult form of Progeria. What basically happens in this disorder is that age is accelerated seven times faster than that of a normal person. For example, for Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, a child could look like he is fifty when he is actually five years old. A twenty year old with Werner’s Syndrome could look similar to a sixty or seventy year old person. There is, even now, not much information known about this genetic disorder because

This syndrome is tested at birth with fluorescent in situ hybridization or FISH. With blood samples, they test the blood for the deletion of chromosome 7. FISH checks if many as of 22-26 genes are deleted. Because there is no cure for this syndrome, you will most likely have physical therapy and early education to help early development symptoms like speech delays and heart problems. This syndrome is not caused by environmental factors, it is completely genetic and NOT the parents fault.

     Progeria is an autosomal recessive disease, which means it is not carried on a sex chromosome. Hutchison-Gilford Progeria is caused by a mutation in Lamin A. Lamin A is a fibrous protein involved in the structure of the nuclear membrane. When there is a mutation in Lamin A it is likely the nucleus loses its normal shape and therefore its function is compromised. As of now, it is known that this is the cause of Progeria itself; however, neither doctors nor scientist can determine what this mutation has to do with the aging-like deformities of Progeria (Kugler).

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome, also known as HGPS, or Progeria, is a very rare genetic disease caused by a mutation in the cell. In 1886, Jonathan Hutchinson first reported case of a 3 ½ year old boy who had the appearance of an old man. In 1897 Hastings Gilford reported a second case with similar features. However, this mystery disease didn’t have a name until 1904, when it was named after the two men. People who have HGPS usually star showing symptoms by the age of 2, and only live to be a teen-mid-20s.

In conclusion, progeria is a deadly genetic disease characterised by premature aging. Caused by a chance occurrence in the egg or sperm, families have no warning until symptoms manifest around the age of two. Though there is treatment for the disease, there is no cure. Donating your time or money to help progeria patients is a worthy cause. Hopefully, in the future a cure will be found and progeria will not affect children around the

This syndrome is not very common, because it is a rare condition. Its prevalence is not certain, but the proximate amount is 5 to 10 individuals per million newborns. Research workers appraise that there are approximately 200 to 300 individuals around the world who have this disorder. It is observed with equivalent recurrence in both males and females over all ethnic groups.

Gigantism is abnormally large growth during childhood caused by excess growth hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland.

Progeria, also known as Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome, and Progeria syndrome, is an extremely rare genetic disease wherein symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at a very early age. The Progeria come from the Greek words “pro” meaning “before” and “gēras” meaning “old age”. The disorder has a very low incident rate, occurring in an estimated 1 per 8 million live births. Those born with Progeria typically live to their mid teens and early twenties. It is a genetic condition that occurs as a new mutation, and is rarely inherited. Although the term Progeria applies strictly to all diseases characterized by premature aging symptoms, and is often used as

Some ways to detect Progeria are genetic tests of the patient’s blood and clinical exams. Furthermore, the major signs begin developing when the child is around eighteen to twenty-four months old and he will experience accelerated aging even though he was born looking normal. One major symptom is hair loss. Patients are born with hair texture and color, but around six months to two years, the hair begins to fall out. Then, from two to three years, they are usually bald, but might have some thin, light hair. Loss of eyelashes and eyebrows are also experienced. Along with hair loss, these children grow slowly resulting in a shrunken physique and minimal weight gain. For males, their approximate height and weight are 40 inches and 25 pounds; but females are about 32 inches and 20 pounds. In When Good Things Happen to Bad People, doctors have stated these kids will "grow to be very short," and "would never grow much beyond three feet."( Kusher 1-2) Moreover, there are distinctive physical traits in the face and body. "By the second year of life, there is also under development (hypoplasia) of the facial bones and the lower jaw." ("Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria") Also, "the face appears disproportionately small in comparison to the head, and bones of the front and the sides of the skull (cranium) are unusually prominent." ("Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria") Some other characteristics observed in the face are a thin

decades. Some people were born at 26 weeks in the early 60’s and suffers from severe

Gigantism is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height, particularly targeting the person’s appendages. Gigantism is also known as acromegaly if the condition persists into adulthood. The prefix acro- means extremity while the suffix -megaly means enlargement. Normal amounts of growth hormone are secreted by the pituitary gland using the negative feedback system. Dealing with endocrinology, gigantism is primarily caused by a tumor growth on the pituitary gland (Wisse, 2015). This creates a surplus of the human growth hormone typically secreted during puberty. If left untreated, the persons affected can expect a lowered life span. Despite the abnormal height and elongated appendages, the person’s affected can expect to be self-sufficient.

The growth rate is slower than other children that grow normally. Children with progeria syndrome are much shorter and weigh less than the normal growing children their age. Children 9-24 months start to experience growth delays. They have disproportion of a small face compared to the head, an undeveloped jaw, crowded teeth, small eyes, and a small nose. By age two the child experience hair, eyebrow, and eyelashes being loss and replaced by light hair that cannot be visible. Also they can have hip dislocations, strokes, heart attacks, prominent veins on scalp, loss of fat beneath the skin, and skeletal defects. Average die at age thirteen due to heart disease but could range to about eight to twenty one years of

Progeria is a rare, fatal, genetic condition that comes from the Greek word progeros meaning prematurely old. In the greek language, the word ‘pro’ means before and the word ‘geras’ means old age. Another name for progeria is Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome. Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) was first described in 1886 by Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson and also in 1897 by Dr. Hastings Gilford in 1897 – both in England.