Patient Perspective: Progeria

Hope is in the Pipeline for Children with Progeria

Medical researchers are racing to beat the clock in search of a cure for progeria, a premature aging condition that afflicts just 14 children in the United States and usually leads to death near age 13. In 2003, scientists were able to isolate the gene mutation that causes this rare disease. In 2004, researchers were able to explain how the gene mutation works.¹¹² Now, NIH scientists and others are testing a group of cancer drugs donated by pharmaceutical companies. These drugs appear to repair cells damaged due to the disease. By halting the rapid aging process associated with the disease and restoring damaged cells, medical research gives children living with progeria hope that their time will not run out before they reach adulthood.¹¹³



< back to list

Endnotes:

112 C. Smith, "Lessons from a Boy Growing Old Before His Time," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 16 September 2004, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/seth/190908_progeriamain.asp (accessed 4 October 2005).

113 M. Fox, "Cancer Drugs May Treat Aging Syndrome in Children," Reuters UK, 30 August 2005, http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-08-30T132533Z_01_MAR870933_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-HEALTH-AGING-DC.XML.