Last year, the news made headlines that a “real Benjamin Button” kid died after fighting a long battle with a rare genetic disorder called Progeria. The news was that the 17-year-old teen was diagnosed with the same disease when he was only 22 months old, and finally the poor soul failed to battle with the disease which brought him ultimately an untimely death because of the disease.
Progeria is a premature rare aging disease, in which children begin aging quickly since their birth and eventually they started experiencing joint pains, brittle bones, and cardiovascular problems within a few years after their birth finally leading to their untimely death in late teens or 20s.
Progeria is an extremely rare genetic disorder in which symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at a very early age. Progeria is one type of several progeroid syndromes. The word Progeria comes from the Greek words “pro” meaning “before” or “premature” and “gēras” meaning “old age”. Due to the disease is the rare, that is why, it is occurring in an estimated 1 per 8 million live births. Those born as the Progeria patient, they can’t survive more than their early teen times. And till now the disorder is not much common.
Amitabh Bachchan starrer, the National Award winning movie “Paa”, R Balki directed the flick, focus on the same subject of the Benjamin Button Kids and literally, the film actually, throw light on the subject and now gradually, mass get to know about the same.
Anyway, Scientists wants to know about the Progeria as Progeria might reveal clues about the normal process of aging. Progeria was first described in 1886 by Jonathan Hutchinson.and eventually, in 1897 by Hastings Gilford describe it independently. The condition was later named Hutchinson–Gilford Progeria syndrome.
The disorder can be suspects by, its sign and symptoms which will be start showing when the baby will be in his initial stage after his birth, and its signs and symptoms, such as skin changes, abnormal growth, and loss of hair. A genetic test for LMNA mutations can confirm the diagnosis of Progeria.
As there is no known cure, few people with Progeria exceed 13 years of age. And more or less 90% of patients die from complications of atherosclerosis, means heart attack or stroke. The children who are suffering from the disease of Progeria disorder, they are also known as the Benjamin Button Kids.
Some tragic cases of The Real Life Benjamin Button Kids:
Anjali and Keshav siblings are suffering from the same disease.
Rinki, the mother of Anjali, says “I massage Anjali’s legs all the time, and she’s always in pain. It breaks my heart to see my kids this way”.
Benjamin Button is the rare disease in which kids look like too old despite their little age.
The doctor said unfortunately there is no cure for the disease in India.
