Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria

Progeria is a rare, untreatable disease that causes children to age prematurely. It is a sickness that affects only a slight amount of people, but needs to be recognized as a severe disorder that affects the body.

In the year 1886, Jonathan Hutchinson was researching the symptoms of a six year old boy who appeared to look older than he actually was. Hutchinson kept documentations of this boy and stated that he lost his hair and got wrinkled, veiny skin. Eleven years later, Hutchinson introduced the disease as “progeria” which derives from the Greek word “progeros,” meaning prematurely old. He organized a set of pictures in chronological order of the changes the boy’s body went through from the day he was born, until he died at age seventeen. The report was possibly the earliest known record of progeria and was published in 1904 (Enerson).

Hutchinson- Gilford Progeria Syndrome, also known as progeria is a genetic disease that affects infants between the ages of twelve to twenty four months old. It causes children to age quickly, making them look several years older than they actually are (Nordqvist). The life expectancy of children diagnosed with the disease is between seven and twenty one years old. When an affected child is born, he or she appears to be a healthy baby, making it unclear to determine whether or not a child has progeria. Symptoms do not occur until the child is about

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one year old. The first and most noticeable symptom is growth failure. The child struggles to maintain a healthy height and weight. Their appetites are minimal and their bodies require lots of nutrition. Another physically symptom is the abnormally large head that forms disproportionally to the face. Along with the odd shaped head, t...

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...al drug trial of the treatment. They hold annual fundraisers and have managed to raise millions of dollars to help find a cure to progeria (About Progeria).

Progeria is a disease that has affected hundred of people and needs to be recognized. It shortens the life span of innocent young children and prevents them from living life as a normal

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child. Although the genetic mutation is quite uncommon, progeria is a sickness that needs to be cured.

Work Cited

“About Progeria.” Progeriaresearch.org. Progeria Research Foundation, 2014. Web. 1 March 2014.

Enerson, Daniel. “Whonamedit.” Whonamedit.com. Hutchinson-Gilford Disease, 2014. Web. 1 March 2014.

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Progeria.” Mayoclinic.org. Diseases and Conditions, 2011. Web. 1 March 2014.

Nordqvist, Christian. “What is Progeria?.” Medicalnewstoday.com. MNT, 2009. Web. 1 March 2014.