Genetic Disorders: Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome

Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome, also known as HGPS, or Progeria, is a very rare genetic disease caused by a mutation in the cell. In 1886, Jonathan Hutchinson first reported case of a 3 ½ year old boy who had the appearance of an old man. In 1897 Hastings Gilford reported a second case with similar features. However, this mystery disease didn’t have a name until 1904, when it was named after the two men. People who have HGPS usually star showing symptoms by the age of 2, and only live to be a teen-mid-20s.

Genetics determine the traits an individual will inherit from their parents. In society today, the role of genetics is crucial; they decide ones physical appearance as well as their personality. However, if there is a mutation located in one of the genes that a child receives it is very likely a deformity will be present. A rare yet fatal defect from a gene mutation such as this is Progeria. This disorder is an unfortunate one that may occur in two forms, either Hutchison-Gilford Progeria or Werner syndrome. Not only do they affect the bone structure and appearance of the child, but they substantially shorten their life spans.

Progeria is one of the least known genetic disorders. There are two types of Progeria, the only difference being the age group that it affects. The Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome is commonly called Childhood Progeria. The second type of Progeria is Werner’s Syndrome, which is the adult form of Progeria. What basically happens in this disorder is that age is accelerated seven times faster than that of a normal person. For example, for Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, a child could look like he is fifty when he is actually five years old. A twenty year old with Werner’s Syndrome could look similar to a sixty or seventy year old person. There is, even now, not much information known about this genetic disorder because

Waardenburg Syndrome is a group of genetic conditions that can lead to hearing loss and changes in the color of hair, skin, and eyes (Genetics 2013). Cases of Waardenburg Syndrome are not very common. There are different types of symptoms of the syndrome. Waardenburg Syndrome can be inherited either on an autosomal dominant pattern or autosomal recessive pattern (Calendar 2013). The ways of diagnosing Waardenburg Syndrome include certain tests to detect the disorder. While Waardenburg Syndrome cannot be cured, treatments can be given to lessen the effects. Like other diseases, Waardenburg Syndrome has certain symptoms, inheritance patterns, diagnosis and treatments.

Some ways to detect Progeria are genetic tests of the patient’s blood and clinical exams. Furthermore, the major signs begin developing when the child is around eighteen to twenty-four months old and he will experience accelerated aging even though he was born looking normal. One major symptom is hair loss. Patients are born with hair texture and color, but around six months to two years, the hair begins to fall out. Then, from two to three years, they are usually bald, but might have some thin, light hair. Loss of eyelashes and eyebrows are also experienced. Along with hair loss, these children grow slowly resulting in a shrunken physique and minimal weight gain. For males, their approximate height and weight are 40 inches and 25 pounds; but females are about 32 inches and 20 pounds. In When Good Things Happen to Bad People, doctors have stated these kids will "grow to be very short," and "would never grow much beyond three feet."( Kusher 1-2) Moreover, there are distinctive physical traits in the face and body. "By the second year of life, there is also under development (hypoplasia) of the facial bones and the lower jaw." ("Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria") Also, "the face appears disproportionately small in comparison to the head, and bones of the front and the sides of the skull (cranium) are unusually prominent." ("Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria") Some other characteristics observed in the face are a thin

In the beginning of the second year, and last half of the first year the children will stop growing and gaining weight which is accompanied by the hair loss. Between the ages of two and three year the classic facial feature of the Progeria begin to show (Hennekam, 2006 pp. 2603-2624).

The type of Progeria Sam had is called Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, “child Progeria” rather than Werner’s syndrome, also know as “adult Progeria”, that does not occur until late teens, resulting in longer lives into the 40’s-50’s (“Progeria 101/FAQ"). Progeria has a vast amount of symptoms that the majority of those suffering deal with as well as symptoms that are seen less often. Throughout early infancy, children with Progeria resemble normal infants’ physical appearance. Around age 1 or 2 they begin to display extreme growth delay causing them to be short, and have low weight. Their faces appear to be small compared to their head size; furthermore, their faces seem shrunken, wrinkled, and slender. Skulls will have visible veins along the forehead, nose-bridge, as well as the other areas across the head. Other symptoms include having a small jaw, delayed or failed tooth development, deformity of teeth with crowding, beaked nose, prominent eyes, brittle nails, dislocated hips, skeletal defects, and loss of hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes (Chandravanshi et al.). More damaging symptoms are atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), cardiovascular issues (strokes heart attacks), arthritis, and osteoporosis (“Progeria 101/FAQ"). The children who have Progeria are very similar in appearance with little effects from various ethnicities (“Progeria 101/FAQ"). Normally the complications of atherosclerosis lead to the deaths of the children around

The LMNA gene is a member of the intermediate filaments type V, lamins. It is placed at chromosome 1, position 22. The LMNA gene codes for two proteins, lamin A and lamin B. These two protein are similar in amino acid sequences, but a slight difference make lamin A longer than lamin C. These proteins main function is to support the shape of the nuclear lamina (envelope), the fibrous structure surrounding the nucleus. The nuclear membrane regulates the the exchange of molecules through the nucleus. Scientist also believe that the nuclear lamina regulates the expression of certain genes(LMNA, 2013). When the LMNA gene is damaged due to mutations it can produce altered lamins. These lamins can disrupt the shape of the nuclear lamina. With a distorted nuclear lamina the development of the peripheral nervous system and skeletal muscle system is interrupted. It can also prevent fat infiltration of muscle and bone marrow depending on the type of mutation that occurred in the LMNA gene (P02545 - LMNA_HUMAN, n.d).

Progeria, also known as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is an extremely rare genetic disorder where symptoms resembling aspects of aging are displayed at a very early age (Progeria 101). A genetic disease is an illness caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome, especially a condition that is congenital (present from birth). Genetic diseases are rare and may or may not be heritable. There are thousands of extremely rare genetic diseases, one being Progeria. Progeria affects its victims and their families more than physically; it takes a toll on the mental and emotional state of mind.

Lonafarnib, a type of farnesyltransferase inhibitor (FTI) originally developed to treat cancer, has proven effective for Progeria. Every child showing improvement in one or more of four ways: gaining additional weight, better hearing, improved bone structure and/or, most importantly, increased flexibility of blood vessels. Results of the study, which was funded and coordinated by The Progeria Research Foundation, were published September 24, 2012 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(no author, first treatment

Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a genetic disorder caused by incorrect or missing genetic information that leads to the gradual weakening of the muscle cells. Various causes lead to weak and deteriorating muscles depending on the type of muscular dystrophy the patient was affected by. However, there are many causes for muscular dystrophy due to the fact that there are thirty forms of muscular dystrophy, which are categorized under several categories. All are ultimately caused by autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, sex-linked, and random mutations in very rare cases.

Hutchinson- Gilford Progeria Syndrome is reported about 1 in 8 million newborns (Parker 16). Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome equally affects both sexes and races of children and gives them an appearance of rapid aging (Nordqvist 1). The symptoms of this disease show around eighteen to twenty-four months of

This disease is genetic and has no environmental factors. De Grouchy syndrome is a rare condition caused by a chromosome 18 abnormality. The affected person will have a short stature, lack of muscle tone, hearing impairment, and foot deformities. Poor coordination, involuntary eye movement, seizures, a small head, underdeveloped mid-face, deep-set eyes, and autistic behavior are also symptoms. There is no known treatment for De Grouchy syndrome. Scientists are working on a treatment, but it is hard to make a treatment for a disease that has no environmental factors. To effectively diagnose De Grouchy syndrome, a genetic analysis needs to be performed. You must go to a hospital or doctor's office to have it diagnosed. It is genetic and it cannot

This syndrome is tested at birth with fluorescent in situ hybridization or FISH. With blood samples, they test the blood for the deletion of chromosome 7. FISH checks if many as of 22-26 genes are deleted. Because there is no cure for this syndrome, you will most likely have physical therapy and early education to help early development symptoms like speech delays and heart problems. This syndrome is not caused by environmental factors, it is completely genetic and NOT the parents fault.

During many studies performed by different researchers, it was found that Hutchinson- Gilford progeria’s main cause is a mutation of the