The brothers, who live with their family in Springfield
Township, Montgomery County, have mandibuloacral dysplasia
(MAD), a genetic disease so rare that they are the only people
in the United States - and just the sixth and seventh people in
the world - to be diagnosed. MAD is a form of progeria, the
fatal premature-aging disease. For children with classic
progeria, the average life span is 13, but because the Falcone
boys' condition is so rare, no one can say how long they might
live. Although their disease is incredibly uncommon, studying it
has wider implications, informing us about how normal aging and
cardiovascular disease work. Progeria research is advancing
quickly. Fourteen years ago, the medical community knew almost
nothing about the disease; last month, scientists announced that
the first experimental drug to treat progeria has shown
promising results, and another trial is under way. But Phyllis
and Mark Falcone feel as if they're racing against the clock as
their sons' hair falls out and their bo