When everyone saw Amitabh Bachchan play Auro, a child who looked like an aged man in the super hit film Paa, most thought that it was "one-of-a-kind" case and not that common in the world.
While progeria is actually a very rare health condition, there are many kids who suffer from it. Remember Nihal Bitla, the face of Progeria in India, who died this year at the age of 15.
However, looks like the disease is on the rise and is affecting babies over the world. A newborn baby boy was today born in Bangladesh, whose skin and face looked like that of an 80-year-old. News reports say that the baby suffers from progeria, a medical condition in which a human being ages eight times faster than normal ones.
The baby was born to a poor farmer couple, Parul Patro and Biswajit Patro, in Bhulbaria village in Bangladesh. Ever since the baby's birth, curious relatives and villagers are flocking the hospital to catch a glimpse of this "miracle baby".
While the baby suffers from a debilitating health condition, the couple are happy that they have been blessed with a boy and are celebrating its birth.
"Our first child, Aparna, has taken after her mother. But my boy looks like me, and I am happy," said an ecstatic father.
The family is also not that worried about the baby's health as it feels that the baby looks like his father.
"The baby looks old because his father also looks more than his age. I just hope that the baby will lead a long and healthy life," says Arabindu Mondal, the baby's maternal uncle.
According to doctors, both the mother and the newborn are perfectly hale and hearty as of now.
What is progeria?
Progeria is an incurable genetic condition, but it only occurs in 1 in four million kids. There are 124 other such children who have been identified with Progeria globally.
The Progeria Research Foundation (PRF) states that there are 250 kids fighting the disease, out of which 60 are from India. Most kids with progeria do not live past the age of 13. The condition can affect both genders. Following are the symptoms of progeria as listed by WebMD.
Unlike this case, most kids with progeria look healthy when they're born, but they start to show signs of the disease during their first year. They mostly have the following physical traits:
- A bigger head
- Large eyes
- A small lower jaw
- A thin nose with a "beaked" tip
- Ears that stick out
- Veins you can see
- Slow and abnormal tooth growth
- A high-pitched voice
- Loss of body fat and muscle
- Hair loss, including eyelashes and eyebrow
Also Read: Nihal Bitla, India's face of progeria, passes away at the age of 15
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[Image and news courtesy: Indiatoday.in]
