An article from CNN Health discuss clues found about the cause of a disease known as progeria. Progeria is a rare disease in which children ages quickly and often dies young from illnesses elderly people may get. Clues suggest that the cause of progeria is "a single letter in a progeria patient's genome is out of place; this genetic defect causes the child to accumulate too much of a toxic protein called progerin and the cells can't get rid of it."
I found this article very touching because it starts out talking about a woman named Meg who was 23 and had this disease. Before she lost the battle to progeria, she was an outspoken advocate for disabled people in Milford, Connecticut. This article was also significant because as research progresses, geneticists and doctors are unveiling details on the causes and possible treatment to this fatal illness that we have little knowledge of.
Another article gives more details on the FDA approved drug rapamycin, which is believed to be a possible treatment to progeria. Studies show that it "decreases the amount of the protein that causes progeria by fifty percent, improves the abnormal nuclear shape and extends the lifespan of progeria cells." Hopefully with continuous research and discoveries, we would soon find a treatment to progeria and save the lives of it's victims.
