Brooke Greenberg is a 20-year-old girl
trapped inside of the body of an infant. She is a medical mystery for
the doctors, and it would appear that The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button may not be far off as we might think. Brooke weighs just 16
pounds (7 kilograms) and she has the mental capacity of a toddler. Find
out why this 20 year-old girl hasn’t grown an inch since she was 4 years
old right here.
Brooke was born on January 8, 1993, she
is 76 cm tall, and even though she may look like a small toddler, she is
actually a 20-year old girl. Her case has amazed and dazzled some of
the most renown doctors and specialists, and she is considered to be a
link to finding out the secret of how to stop the aging process, or even
just delay it.
Even though she keeps aging, her mental
capacity but also her exterior aspect remains that of an infant due to
the fact that her body is not able to mature properly. Up till the age
of 4, Brooke had developed slower than normal, but she developed
nonetheless. The doctors have not been able to identify what this
20-year-old toddler suffers from, and there has been no formal
diagnosis. The problem that prevents Brooke from developing normally is
simply referred to as Syndrome X (that sounds like something out of the X
Files).
20-Year-Old Infant – A Medical Mystery
If you think that the fact that this girl
doesn’t age is amazing, wait till you hear some more information from
her medical history! Throughout her life, Brooke has suffered from quite
a few extremely dangerous medical emergencies which would normally pose
a threat to her life. Amazingly, the girl recovered miraculously and
without outside interventions. She simply healed on her own.
Before even turning 4, Brooke made it out
alive from a surgery for seven perforated stomach ulcers (and not many
people survive that). After having this surgery, Brooke suffered from a
brain seizure, which also led to a stroke. Normally, a stroke would
leave some traces, if not physically, at least on a cat-scan or MRI, but
two weeks after the seizure, the girl’s brain looked like nothing had
ever happened.
When she was just 4 years old, Brooke
slipped into a 14-days-long coma due to a massive tumor inside her
brain. By the time she woke up, the tumor had miraculously disappeared.
So, not only is this girl not aging, but she also has an amazing
accelerated self-healing ability.
The Key To The Fountain Of Youth?
After ruling out any endocrine system
abnormalities, many specialists are struggling to unlock the mystery
behind Brooke’s evolution. The girls unique DNA may be hold they key to
finding solutions for the problems of aging, such as Alzheimer’s
disease, or Parkinson’s and many more. Some of the tests which Brooke
has underwent have revealed that her genes may have suffered a mutation
that switched off her body’s ability to mature.
Scientists believe that after the finish
sequencing Brooke’s genome, they may lead to finding abnormalities in
genes that determine aging. Further on, scientists have to make tests to
find out that if altering the genes in cause could also alter our own
aging process, increasing longevity and curing some age-related
diseases.
Dr. Richard Walker, who has a PhD in
endocrine physiology has been observing Brooke’s case and has concluded
that parts of her body are developing at different rates, as if they
were not part of the same organism. The girl’s brain is estimated to be
that of a 9 month-old baby, her teeth are that of an 8-year-old while
her bones are similar to those of a 10-year-old child…
In the meantime, Brooke, who has stayed
the same for 15 years, needs permanent nursing from her parents. The
girl receives her food through a feeding tube connected directly to her
stomach, due to the small size of her esophagus, food could back up and
reach her lungs, causing pneumonia.
Brooke still has her baby teeth, she travels by stroller and acts like a normal toddler.
Brooke still has her baby teeth, she travels by stroller and acts like a normal toddler.
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