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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffUsually within the first year of life, growth of a child with progeria slows markedly so that height and weight fall below average for his or her age, and weight falls low for height. Motor development and mental development remain normal.
Signs and symptoms of this progressive disorder include:
- Slowed growth, with below-average height and weight
- A narrowed face and beaked nose, which makes the child look old
- Hair loss (alopecia), including eyelashes and eyebrows
- Hardening and tightening of skin on trunk and extremities (scleroderma)
- Loose, aged-looking skin
- Head too large for face
- Prominent scalp veins
- Prominent eyes
- Small lower jaw (micrognathia)
- High-pitched voice
- Delayed and abnormal tooth formation
- Loss of body fat and muscle
- Stiff joints
- Hip dislocation
When to see a doctor
Call for an appointment with your doctor if your child does not appear to be growing or developing normally, including problems with hair loss, skin changes or slowed growth.
- Learning about progeria. National Genome Research Institute. http://www.genome.gov/11007255. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Progeria. National Institutes of Health. http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/Progeria.pdf. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Progeria (Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome). The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec19/ch286/ch286d.html. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Brown TW. Progeria. In: Kliegman RM, et al. Kliegman: Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50092-X&uniq=124224571&isbn=978-1-4160-2450-7&sid=812951456. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Brown TW. Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. National Institutes of Health: Gene Reviews. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=gene&part=hgps. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Hutchison-Gilford progeria syndrome. Genetics Home Reference. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=hutchinsongilfordprogeriasyndrome. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Anti-cancer drug prevents, reverses cardiovascular damage in mouse model of premature aging disorder. National Institutes of Health. http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2008/nhgri-06.htm. Accessed March 5, 2009.
- Martini R. Helping children cope with chronic illness. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Accessed March 5, 2009.
