Via Scoop.it – Healthcare Continuing Education

Standing 3 feet tall, Meg didn’t look like her peers. Bald and skinny, her body was aging rapidly because she had a rare genetic disease called Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.

People with progeria wrinkle and develop the same circulation and joint ailments as the elderly — except most of them die by age 13.
Progeria affects 200-250 children worldwide, but research into the disease could offer clues on cellular function and how it affects human aging and other age-related diseases.

This week, a study about a possible treatment was published in Science Translational Medicine. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, is one of the authors.
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