American track star Jesse Owens became the hero of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, as his series of victories scored a moral victory for African American athletes.
HGPS is caused by a mutation in the gene called LMNA (pronounced âlamin-aâ). The LMNA gene produces the lamin A protein which is the structural scaffolding that holds the nucleus of a cell together. The abnormal lamin A protein that causes Progeria is called progerin. Progerin makes the nucleus unstable. That cellular instability leads to the process of premature aging and disease in Progeria. Progeria Cell Nucleus. PRF was the driving force behind finding the gene responsible for Progeria.
Only 80 children in the world currently have the condition, including 18 in the United States, according to the Progeria Research Foundation. Children are born seemingly healthy, but start aging dramatically by the age of 2. On average, they die at 13.