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The Causes and Treatment for Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

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History/Overview Progeria is a very rare fatal genetic condition of premature or accelerated aging in children. Symptoms are unrecognizable at birth, but in the first and next years that follows, bird-like facial features, enlarged skull, congenital hair and fat loss, dwarfism, growth failure, hearing loss, joint stiffness, dental crowding and cardiovascular diseases, characterization of the disease, will grow evident. There is physical manifestation alone. Intellect usually remains normal. Although genetic, it is not hereditary. It is “sporadic autosomal dominant” mutation. Both genders are vulnerable to this condition, and the average life span is 13 years. Common cause of death among patients with Progeria is atherosclerosis or heart disease. Recognition of different forms of Progeria has developed over the years but the most recognized classic is Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS). This rare disease was named after Jonathan Hutchinson and Hastings Gilford who worked separately on this disease. It was first observed by Jonathan Hutchinson, a London surgeon, in 1886. He recorded a 6-year old boy in England who exemplified premature aging:
“A case of congenital absence of hair with atrophic condition of the skin and its appendages”. Afterwards, in 1897, Hastings Gilford observed and recorded the same case:
“On a condition of mixed premature and immature development.” From this observation, Gilford acknowledged it as a clinical issue and called it “Progeria”,

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