Accelerated Aging: Progeria

Human progeria comes in two major forms, Werner's syndrome (adult-onset progeria) and Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome (juvenile-onset progeria). Werner's patients are usually diagnosed in early maturity and have an average life span of forty-seven years. Hutchinson-Gilford patients are usually diagnosed within the first two years of life and have an average life span of thirteen years. The latter syndrome is often simply termed "progeria" and both are sometimes lumped together as progeroid syndromes.