At 16 years of age and weighing only 16 pounds, Brooke Greenberg has a previously-undescribed condition which in many aspects seems to show an absence of aging of the body.
She is infantile in size, but she does not have ordinary dwarfism. She still has her baby teeth. Her cognition is that of a child. Her bone age is only that of a 10-year old.
Does Brooke hold the secret to the fountain of youth? Her physicians are hopeful that sorting out the mechanism for her persistent youthful characteristics might lead to more insights on the normal process of aging:
She is infantile in size, but she does not have ordinary dwarfism. She still has her baby teeth. Her cognition is that of a child. Her bone age is only that of a 10-year old.
Does Brooke hold the secret to the fountain of youth? Her physicians are hopeful that sorting out the mechanism for her persistent youthful characteristics might lead to more insights on the normal process of aging:
Brooke hasn't aged in the conventional sense. Dr. Richard Walker of the University of South Florida College of Medicine, in Tampa, says Brooke's body is not developing as a coordinated unit, but as independent parts that are out of sync. She has never been diagnosed with any known genetic syndrome or chromosomal abnormality that would help explain why.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Minnesotastan.
This whole "not ageing" thing is a total crock. There is a certain age when our cells start to degenerate (age). If they can prove that this individual will live longer than what is normal, I will pay attention. But otherwise, stop with the dumb speculation. We all grow old, and we all die.
Lovely.
Either way I hope we can learn a great deal about the aging process from this little girl and hopefully find a way to allow her to one day develop fully into an adult.
Still- looking at her I have a feeling she will not live a full human life in years.