In the medical field, Progeria is a rare genetic disease that consists of premature aging of children. This disease is caused by the mutation of a gene that causes cells to become unstable and the aging processes accelerate from the first years of life. According to studies, one out of every seven million children born has this condition, with an inclination towards the white race.
Progeria is also known as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, in honor of the English doctor Jonathan Hutchinson who was the first to find it and Hastings Gilford, who carried out different analyzes about its characteristics and development.
Patients with this disease manifest the following clinical characteristics: Short stature, prominent eyes, gray hair in childhood, premature baldness, wrinkled and dry skin, large skull, absence of eyelashes and eyebrows, thin and skeletal limbs, alteration in teething, heart problems, arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, arthritis, cataracts, spots on the skin, among others.
Children born with this condition appear to be normal and it is from twelve months on that the first signs of the disease begin to appear. Children with Progeria have a life expectancy of 13 years, although there are cases where they die younger or live to be twenty years old.
It is important to clarify that this disease does not originate because the father or mother is genetically inclined to generate the disorder. On the contrary, this disease, as already mentioned, is caused by a spontaneous mutation at the time of conception. This disease causes children to age quickly (it is estimated that eight times faster than normal), which is why it generates all kinds of conditions related to old age. On the other hand, on a psychological level, the child with Progeria presents a mental development in accordance with their age, with emotions and intelligence of their own for their age.
Currently there is no treatment that gives positive results in combating this disease. But there are treatments to alleviate or prevent some of the effects that this condition can cause, for example strokes, heart disease, among others.
