Progeria

Progeria, or Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome, rare disease that causes premature aging in children and early death. Sir Jonathan Hutchinson researched the disease in 1886 and there is no cure or treatment for it. Symptoms begin appearing by the second year of life; they include hair loss, wrinkled skin, stunted growth, and other signs of aging normally associated with older persons. Half of all progeria deaths occur by age 13 and the oldest known victim lived only to 27.