Progeria is a rare and incurable disease that causes premature aging in children. It is a disease that affects only a small number of people, but it must be recognized as a serious disorder that affects the body. In the year 1886, Jonathan Hutchinson was researching the symptoms of a six-year-old boy who seemed to look older than him. it really was. Hutchinson kept records of this boy and stated that he has lost his hair and has wrinkled, veined skin. Eleven years later, Hutchinson introduced the disease as “progeria,” which comes from the Greek word “progeros,” meaning prematurely old. He arranged a series of images in chronological order of the changes the boy's body underwent from the day of his birth until his death at the age of seventeen. The report was perhaps the first known paper on progeria and was published in 1904 (Enerson). Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, also known as progeria, is a genetic disorder that affects children between the ages of twelve and twenty-four months. It ages children rapidly, making them appear several years older than they actually are (Nordqvist). The life expectancy of children diagnosed with the disease is between seven and twenty-one years. When an affected baby is born, it appears to be a healthy baby, making it unclear to determine whether or not a baby has progeria. Symptoms don't appear until the baby is about a year old. The first and most obvious symptom is lack of growth. The child struggles to maintain a healthy height and weight. Their appetite is minimal and their body requires a lot of nutrition. Another physical symptom is the abnormally large head that shapes out of proportion to the face. Along with the oddly shaped head, t...... center of paper ......to the drug test of the treatment. They hold annual fundraisers and have managed to raise millions of dollars to help find a cure for progeria (About Progeria). Progeria is a disease that has affected hundreds of people and must be recognized. It shortens the lifespan of innocent children and prevents them from living life like a normal Patterson 5 child. Although the genetic mutation is quite rare, progeria is a disease that needs to be cured. Cited work “On progeria”. Progeriaresearch.org. Progeria Research Foundation, 2014. Web. March 1, 2014. Enerson, Daniel. "Who meditates?" Whonamedit.com. Hutchinson-Gilford Disease, 2014. Web. March 1, 2014. Mayo Clinic Staff. "Progeria." Mayoclinic.org. Diseases and Conditions, 2011. Web. March 1, 2014.Nordqvist, Christian. "What is Progeria?" medicalnewstoday.com. MNT, 2009. Web. 1 March 2014.