Progeria, also known as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), is a rare, fatal genetic condition characterized by an appearance of accelerated aging in children. All children with Progeria die of the same heart disease that affects millions of normal aging adults (arteriosclerosis), but instead of occurring at 60 or 70 years of age, these children may suffer strokes and heart attacks even before age 10. Remarkably, the intellect of children with Progeria is unaffected, and despite startling physical changes in their young bodies, these extraordinary children are intelligent, courageous, and full of life.
About the Progeria Research Foundation (PRF)
The Progeria Research Foundation (PRF) was established in 1999 by the parents of a child with Progeria, Drs. Leslie Gordonand Scott Berns, and many dedicated friends and family who saw the need for a medical resource for the doctors, patients, and families of those with Progeria, and for funding of Progeria research. Since that time, PRF was the driving force behind the discovery of the Progeria gene, and has developed programs and services to aid both those affected by HGPS and the scientists that conduct Progeria research. Today, PRF is the only non-profit organization solely dedicated to finding treatments and the cure for Progeria. PRF is hailed as a model for disease-research organizations and a prime example of successful translational research, moving from creation, to gene discovery, to treatment trials in just 10 years.
Progeria’s Growing Statistics
Throughout 2010, Find the Other 150 drove the search for previously unidentified children with Progeria worldwide, resulting in an unprecedented jump from 54 to 78 children – a 44% increase. The most recent 28 children live in Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, and the United States.
Children with Progeria living around the world as of December 2010
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