Teen With Progeria Ageing Syndrome

A YOUNG boy with a ultra-rare genetic condition that makes him look like an old man has defied doctors to celebrate his fifteenth birthday. Nihal Bitla, who lives in Bhiwandi on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, has Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) - which ages his body eight times faster than normal. The condition leaves Nihal bald, with heavy wrinkles and severely weakened limbs. The average life expectancy for children with progeria is 14, with many dying from a heart condition called arteriosclerosis, which usually affects adults over 60. But Nihal blew out the candles on his 15th birthday cake on January 20, 2016, making him the oldest living child diagnosed with progeria in India.