Progeria - aging disorder

waltky · Aug 4, 2016

Old before his time...

The real-life Benjamin Button: Boy, 4, looks like an old man and can't go to school 'because other children are scared of him'
29 July 2016 | Bayezid Hossain has the premature ageing condition progeria; Disease ages the body - but not the mind - at eight times normal rate; Also has another condition causing his skin to hang loosely in folds; He doesn't go to school because other children are afraid of him

A four-year-old boy resembles an 80-year-old pensioner due to an incredibly rare condition. Bayezid Hossain, from outside Magura, southern Bangladesh, suffers a swollen face, hollow eyes, sagging skin, aching joints, difficulties passing urine and already has weak and broken teeth. People in the community stay away from him and children are afraid to play with him, despite him having above average intelligence. Bayezid is believed to suffer from progeria, which ages the body at eight times the normal rate. The disorder is said to have inspired the F Scott Fitzgerald novel and Brad Pitt movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in which the character is born an old man and ages backwards.

Bayezid Hossain, from southern Bangladesh is only four years old but resembles an old man due to a rare ageing disease

Progeria patients normally die from heart attacks or strokes at an average age of 13. Bayezid also has a form of cutis laxa, a rare connective tissue disorder in which the skin hangs loosely in folds. His 18-year-old mother, Tripti Khatun, says she is amazed at how clever her son is, but it breaks her heart that his appearance is so unusual. She said: Bayezid only learned to walk aged three but he had a full set of teeth at three months old. 'His physical growth is completely abnormal but mentally, he has wonderful conversation, very aware and is very intuitive for his age. 'He does not look like other children. He looks like an old man. As a first time mother I cant bear the pain of seeing my child like this.

His mother Tripti is heartbroken at her son's unusual appearance. She said: 'He does not look like other children. He looks like an old man. As a first time mother I cant bear the pain of seeing my child like this'

When Bayezid was born at a government maternity hospital, in 2012, Tripti and her husband Lovelu Hossain, 22, were devastated as doctors had no idea how to treat him. Tripti said: I was terrified to see him when he was born. He was just flesh and bones. He looked like an alien and it was heartbreaking for me. 'Doctors had no idea what to do, they said they had never seen such a baby. They warned us that there was nothing they could do. After they returned home the news of their abnormal child quickly spread around the village and neighbours lined up outside the family's home to see him. But Tripti and her husband said they received no support from the local community.

'He understands his condition but he doesnt like to talk about it. He just cries when he feels awkward,' Tripti said about her son

People feared being close to Bayezid and often gossiped about the couples capabilities as parents, as Tripti and Lovelu are first cousins. In rural parts of Bangladesh and southern Asia it is normal practice for cousins to marry, and the pair tied the knot at 13 years old. The couple now live with Lovelus parents, grandfather Hashem Shikdar, 50, and grandmother Ayesha Begum, 40. As Bayezid grew older both his personality and body developed much faster than other children in his village. Tripti added: Hes very stubborn and knows what he wants, and he gets very impatient. But hes playful, his mind is very sharp, and hes full of conversation. As time has passed his neighbours have slowly gotten used to his presence and have now fondly tagged him the old man.

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Progeria - aging disorder

waltky Well-Known Member

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Progeria - aging disorder

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