The Progeria Research Foundation recently organised a national event to support children with Progeria- ‘Hats On Progeria’. The donations received will be donated to kids with Progeria for their treatment and support.
Every year this event brings together people from all over the world to share a fun day, wear a cool hat, and support children with Progeria. This year too, ‘Hats on Progeria’ received a hearty response in India, with people across the country wearing hats, sharing pictures.
Children with Progeria die of the same heart disease & stroke (arteriosclerosis) that affects millions of normal ageing adults. But instead of occurring at 60 or 70 years of age, Progeria children may have strokes and heart attacks at an average age of 14 years.
According to PRF, for a population of 1.25 billion in India, there are an estimated 60 children in the country. The PRF’s campaign, #Finding60inIndia with the support of MediaMedic Communications, a healthcare communications firm, which is a part of the GLOBALHealthPR group, helped identify these children.
Nihal Bitla, from Mumbai with Progeria, was diagnosed at the age of nine. He was the face of the Social Media campaign ‘Team Nihal’ in India, which has helped spread awareness over the years. He was an inspiration to the other children.
The intellect of children with Progeria is unaffected, and despite startling physical changes in their young bodies, these remarkable children are intelligent, courageous, and full of life.
The Progeria Research Foundation (PRF) was established in 1999 to find the cause, treatments and cure for Progeria – a rapid aging disease that causes children to die from heart disease or stroke at an average age of 14 years. Research conducted in partnership with PRF has identified the gene that causes Progeria and a treatment for the same. To learn more about Progeria and what you can do to help, please visit www.progeriaresearch.org.
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