Progeria, or "Benjamin Button Syndrome", is a rare genetic disorder that causes young children to appear to age at an alarming rate. Affected children tend to have normal or even above average intelligence, but suffer from a range health problems that you would usually associate with old age. Symptoms include thinning hair and skin, stiff joints, liver spots, weak hips as well as an overall elderly appearance. The average life expectancy is just 13 years old, but patients tend to die of age-related diseases such as heart disease and stroke. There is also an adult version of the disease that can manifest as late as a person's early 20s. In this case, life expectancy is around 40 or even 50, but aging is still extremely accelerated. The disease occurs when a genetic mutation causes the Lamin A protein to lose integrity and affects the overall structure of the cells. The thing is that, short of a gene therapy that can prevent that mutation, curing the disease is tantamount to curing old age and "death by natural causes" itself. Want to write for WhatCulture Science? Click here to find out how you could get paid to write about what you love.Hey, you. Yeah, you. You want some more science? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for your next fix.
