For the first time in Israel, a 3-month-old girl was diagnosed with the rare Progeria syndrome. The meaning of the name progeria in Greek is premature old age.
Signs of the syndrome include slowing down and stopping the growth process, loss of hair, aging of the skin and the appearance of wrinkles. In most cases, children diagnosed with progeria die around age 14 from complications of cardiovascular disease, similar to the leading cause of death in adults. The only treatment is treatments that target the complications of the disease rather than the underlying problem.