This remarkable child, Seth Cook, suffers from the disease progeria. Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome is an extremely rare genetic condition which causes physical changes that resemble greatly accelerated aging in sufferers. The disease affects between 1 in 4 million (estimated actual) and 1 in 8 million (reported) newborns. Currently, there are 51 known cases in the world. There is no known cure, but several discoveries have been made that have lead to greater understanding and perhaps eventual treatment.[1] Most people with progeria die around 13 years of age.[2] Progeria is of interest to scientists because the disease may reveal clues about the process of aging. Unlike most other "accelerated aging diseases" (such as Werner's syndrome, Cockayne's syndrome or xeroderma pigmentosum), progeria is not caused by defective DNA repair.