Is the Benjamin Button Disease Real?
Progeria is a specific type of progeroid syndrome, also known as Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome. Progeroid syndromes are a group of diseases that cause victims to age faster than usual, leading to them appearing older than they are….
| Progeria | |
|---|---|
| Causes | Genetic |
| Diagnostic method | Based on symptoms, genetic tests |
How does a child get progeria?
Progeria is caused by a mutation (change) in the lamin A (LMNA) gene. This gene makes a protein that holds the nucleus of a cell together. Because of the change in the gene, the protein becomes defective. This makes the nucleus unstable, which is believed to cause the premature aging process.
Is progeria passed down from parent to child?
Is Progeria passed down from parent to child? HGPS is not usually passed down in families. The gene change is almost always a chance occurrence that is extremely rare. Children with other types of “progeroid” syndromes which are not HGPS may have diseases that are passed down in families.
How fast does progeria make you age?
Progeria is caused by an abnormal protein in the LMNA gene, called progerin, which interferes with the production of lamin A – a protein that stabilizes a cell’s nucleus. This disruption causes children with progeria to age up to 10 times faster than normal.
Does progeria affect the brain?
As children with progeria get older, they get diseases you’d expect to see in people age 50 and older, including bone loss, hardening of the arteries, and heart disease. Children with progeria usually die of heart attacks or strokes. Progeria doesn’t affect a child’s intelligence or brain development.
Can a person with progeria get pregnant?
There are no known factors, such as lifestyle or environmental issues, which increase the risk of having progeria or of giving birth to a child with progeria. Progeria is extremely rare. For parents who have had one child with progeria, the chances of having a second child with progeria are about 2 to 3 percent.
How do people get progeria?
While other “accelerated aging” disorders are caused by a malfunction in deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) repair in the body’s cells, progeria is caused by a mutation in a protein known as Lamin A, which results in a misshapen cell nucleus. Progeria is currently hypothesized to result from a gene mutation arising around…
How is progeria treated?
Common treatments, such as a low-dose aspirin regimen, physical therapy, and feeding tubes, are all designed to ease the symptoms of progeria rather than cure or prevent the condition.
How rare is progeria?
Progeria is very rare. It is reported to occur in 1 in 4-8 million newborns worldwide. [1][3][4] It is estimated that at any one time, there are between 200-250 children living with progeria. [4]
Is progeria hereditary?
Progeria disease is a rare genetic disease but it is not considered to be inherited. It is believed that the mutation tends to occur during conception. There are other disorders that are also connected with aging; however, none of them are about defective DNA.