Doctors Baffled, Intrigued by Girl Who Doesn't Age

[anon]

Brooke Greenberg is the size of an infant, with the mental capacity of a toddler.

She turned 16 in January.

At about 16 pounds and 30 inches, 16-year-old Brooke Greenberg has not aged significantly, physically or apparently cognitively, since she was a toddler. Doctors hope that her case could shed light on the mysterious genetics behind aging.

"Why doesn't she age?" Howard Greenberg, 52, asked of his daughter. "Is she the fountain of youth?"

Such questions are why scientists are fascinated by Brooke. Among the many documented instances of children who fail to grow or develop in some way, Brooke's case may be unique, according to her doctor, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine pediatrician Lawrence Pakula, in Baltimore.

Girl Who Does Not Age, Brooke Greenberg Baffles Doctors - ABC News

[desodorante]

So Maggie Simpson is a true story after all

[slikrapid]

such cases may be of key importance for life prolongation since changes like getting older are gene triggered - imagine reaching a perfect age and remaining like that for an extended period of time

simplified - finding & influencing on genes responsible for the aging process or tissue regeneration process may significantly prolong our lives (and i don't mean by living as a 70 year old up to say 120 years )

[SealLion]

but what is the advantage of living longer and older??

disease processes lasting longe;

some people getting weaker as they age and therefore may not be able to mobilize as much as, or as they were used to--become crippled of a sorts.

people living as 'vegetables' in nursing homes for extended times beyound what would be normal life span as is known today.


For some, it's not an advantage to live longer.

I remember this one elderly woman I met, she really didn't want to live any longer. She felt that life was just to hard on her---limited mobility; constipation, disease processess....etc...etc.....

[slikrapid]

but what is the advantage of living longer and older??

it is a problem if you think of 'older'=old people today, i explained earlier what i meant by 'older'

disease processes lasting longe;
some people getting weaker as they age

when do most diseases/weakness come into play? when you get older

people living as 'vegetables' in nursing homes for extended times beyound what would be normal life span as is known today.

I remember this one elderly woman I met, she really didn't want to live any longer.

no one said anything about excluding euthanasia as a personal option

naturally, depending on the situation there may be a better chance for some diseases to be curable after some time (remember cryogenic human freezing), but generally speaking one's experiencing life-time (if one doesn't get bored ) is preferable to be long(er) as we should expect our life conditions to improve over time (improved society, technology,...)

[SealLion]

disease processes do not occur only when a person is getting older, slikrapid.

Such things do also occur when younger as well.

It has been known, and still does occur, for a person to suffer stroke while in thier 40's for example.

There are other examples as well.

[slikrapid]

disease processes do not occur only when a person is getting older

ummm, like said before: most diseases/weakness come into play when you get older

It has been known, and still does occur, for a person to suffer stroke while in thier 40's for example.

imagine reaching a perfect age - would you say 40's are the perfect age of humans?