Progeria

INTRODUCTION:
Hutchinson-Gilford Syndrome, more commonly known as Progeria derived from Greek, meaning “prematurely old”. It is a rare genetic condition that causes a rapid increase in the aging process of children to about 8 times the normal rate. Because of this accelerated aging, a child of ten years will have similar respiratory, cardiovascular and arthritic conditions that a 70 year old would have. The adult onset form of Progeria is called Werner's syndrome.
There are symptomatic similarities between both forms of Progeria but there are differences. Hutchinson- Gilford syndrome occurs in the first decade of life with an average life span of twelve years, although some have lived past twenty. There are a reported 1 in 8 million occurrence and an estimated 1 in 4 million incidences worldwide. Since its discovery over a century ago, there have been over 100 cases reported. There are 30 to 40 known cases at the present time. Werner syndrome...