Seven-month-old Zoey Penny is now being considered to be the youngest individual in the world to be suffering from Progeria, a rare disease that causes rapid aging. This New Jersey girl is the youngest among the 65 people recognized around the world to be diagnosed with this disease which is extremely rare and is a fatal aging condition. Individuals with Progeria prematurely age 7-10 times quicker compared to normal individuals and unfortunately most of them die, mostly due to heart problems, in early teens as there’s no known cure for it. A specific gene mutation (without a known cause) that occurs during development is said to be the cause for Progeria.

The first time Zoey’s parents, Ian and Laura, noticed some fault in their daughter’s growth a month after her birth. Initially, she weighed less compared to her brothers but not alarming enough. However, her skin appeared to get tight and her limbs turned hard and skinny. Even the veins on her head were quite prominent as there were signs of not enough fat being produced by her body.

Initially, the different tests that were suggested by various doctors came negative until little Zoey was diagnosed with progeria in March by Dr. Wendy Chung who is a specialist in genetics at Columbia University and also at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Chung says, “In the same way that older people have problems with their joints, hip joints, arthritis, problems with their coronary arteries getting blocked, problems with their veins, their blood vessels and their brain sort of getting clogged up, Zoey’s going to have those same problems but they are going to be in super fast motion going forward.”

“Nothing about this is fair. It’s mainly tough when you see other kids,” Ian, who is a teacher by profession, said. “I’m around kids all the time so that’s tough … getting used to it. Knowing that I teach a grade that she most likely will make but possibly not.”

Zoey’s grandparent’s, John and his wife Marlene Marozzi, are using a website to raise funds for Progeria Research Foundation. The website for Team Zoey is committed to raise money to discover a possible cure and to develop treatments for those suffering from Progeria. So far, they have gathered over $50000.

Ian and Laura are still hopeful that with the right support and medical research, soon enough there will be ways to help their daughter. This new research is also helping doctors to understand the aging process in a better way and to help in slowing it down.

Sources:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,597283,00.html