Intro:
I. Imagine for a second that you are 10 years old. Your friends call you up to go out and play but you can't because you have a painful case of arthritis that hurts with every step you take. Or, your chronic heart disease enables you from being able to breathe easily. These conditions are just a few that a child with Progeria may suffer from.
II. Progeria, also known as Hutchinson - Gilford syndrome, According to wikipedia, “is an extremely rare genetic condition which causes physical changes that resembles greatly accelerated aging in sufferers.” So, a child who is 10 years old and suffers of this rare condition will have similar respiratory, cardiovascular and arthritic conditions of a 70 year old.
III. Today, I will inform you of the history of Progeria, the cause of this disease, how the disease affects the body, and treatment.
Body:
I. History of Progeria
A. Jonathon Hutchinson first acknowledged Progeria in 1886.
1. Six years later in a published medical article, Hastings Gilford affirmed the disease and coined it with the term Progeria, meaning "before old age."
2. Gilford provided no photographs of the disorder and indicated that only two people had been afflicted with progeria so far.
B. In the beginning, Progeria was studied as a disease that included the process of normal aging, just at an incredible rate.
1. This is now known to no longer be true because Progeria does not affect all of the body's organs.
2. For instance, there is no evidence of aging in the central nervous system.
3. Most have normal intelligence and may even be advanced.
4. A child with Progeria is just a normal seven-year-old in a 70-year-old body!
Transition: now let’s explore some of the causes of this rare disease
II. The cause of this disease is not yet fully understood, however medical researches believe that it is caused by a mutation in a gene called LMNA.
A: According to a Progeria Research site, this disease is caused by a mutation in...