Cogburn
06-24-2009, 07:46 AM
What
the
fuck?
[offsite=http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=7880954&page=1:2lg5x8nz]Doctors Baffled, Intrigued by Girl Who Doesn't Age
Years Pass, but Brooke Greenberg Remains a Toddler. No One Can Explain How or Why.
By BOB BROWN
June 23, 2009
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.
(Courtesy Greenberg Family)
More Photos
"Why doesn't she age?" Howard Greenberg, 52, asked of his daughter. "Is she the fountain of youth?"
[inmg=left:2lg5x8nz]http://a.abcnews.com/images/2020/ht_scan0005_090619_mn.jpg[/inmg:2lg5x8nz]
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.
"Many of the best-known names in medicine, in their experience ... had not seen anyone who matched up to Brooke," Pakula said. "She is always a surprise."
Brooke hasn't aged in the conventional sense. Dr. Richard Walker of the University of South Florida College of Medicine, in Tampa, says Brooke's body is not developing as a coordinated unit, but as independent parts that are out of sync. She has never been diagnosed with any known genetic syndrome or chromosomal abnormality that would help explain why.
............
n her first six years, Brooke went through a series of medical emergencies from which she recovered, often without explanation. She survived surgery for seven perforated stomach ulcers. She suffered a brain seizure followed by what was diagnosed as a stroke that weeks later left no apparent damage.
At 4, she fell into a lethargy that caused her to sleep for 14 days. Then, doctors diagnosed a brain tumor, and the Greenbergs bought a casket for her.
"We were preparing for our child to die," Howard Greenberg said. "We were saying goodbye. And, then, we got a call that there was some change; that Brooke had opened her eyes and she was fine. There was no tumor. She overcomes every obstacle that is thrown her way."
Brooke's doctor said the source of her sudden illnesses remains a mystery.
"We often did not have a good explanation for why she became ill as quickly and intensely as she did," Pakula said. "There were many times in which there were real doubts about her ability to survive."
As she rocks back and forth in a baby swing, Brooke is fed through a tube inserted into her stomach, because her esophagus is so small that swallowed food could back up into her lungs and cause pneumonia.
Doctors recommended growth hormone therapy early in Brooke's life, but the treatment produced no results.
Howard Greenberg recalled the follow-up visit to the endocrinologist. "We took her back in six months, and the doctor looked at us and said, 'Why didn't you give Brooke the growth hormones?' And I said, 'We gave Brooke the growth hormones. We gave her everything you told us to do.' And Brooke didn't put on a pound, an ounce; she didn't grow an inch."[/offsite:2lg5x8nz]
The article goes on for four pages.
Fucking amazing.
the
fuck?
[offsite=http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=7880954&page=1:2lg5x8nz]Doctors Baffled, Intrigued by Girl Who Doesn't Age
Years Pass, but Brooke Greenberg Remains a Toddler. No One Can Explain How or Why.
By BOB BROWN
June 23, 2009
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.
(Courtesy Greenberg Family)
More Photos
"Why doesn't she age?" Howard Greenberg, 52, asked of his daughter. "Is she the fountain of youth?"
[inmg=left:2lg5x8nz]http://a.abcnews.com/images/2020/ht_scan0005_090619_mn.jpg[/inmg:2lg5x8nz]
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.
"Many of the best-known names in medicine, in their experience ... had not seen anyone who matched up to Brooke," Pakula said. "She is always a surprise."
Brooke hasn't aged in the conventional sense. Dr. Richard Walker of the University of South Florida College of Medicine, in Tampa, says Brooke's body is not developing as a coordinated unit, but as independent parts that are out of sync. She has never been diagnosed with any known genetic syndrome or chromosomal abnormality that would help explain why.
............
n her first six years, Brooke went through a series of medical emergencies from which she recovered, often without explanation. She survived surgery for seven perforated stomach ulcers. She suffered a brain seizure followed by what was diagnosed as a stroke that weeks later left no apparent damage.
At 4, she fell into a lethargy that caused her to sleep for 14 days. Then, doctors diagnosed a brain tumor, and the Greenbergs bought a casket for her.
"We were preparing for our child to die," Howard Greenberg said. "We were saying goodbye. And, then, we got a call that there was some change; that Brooke had opened her eyes and she was fine. There was no tumor. She overcomes every obstacle that is thrown her way."
Brooke's doctor said the source of her sudden illnesses remains a mystery.
"We often did not have a good explanation for why she became ill as quickly and intensely as she did," Pakula said. "There were many times in which there were real doubts about her ability to survive."
As she rocks back and forth in a baby swing, Brooke is fed through a tube inserted into her stomach, because her esophagus is so small that swallowed food could back up into her lungs and cause pneumonia.
Doctors recommended growth hormone therapy early in Brooke's life, but the treatment produced no results.
Howard Greenberg recalled the follow-up visit to the endocrinologist. "We took her back in six months, and the doctor looked at us and said, 'Why didn't you give Brooke the growth hormones?' And I said, 'We gave Brooke the growth hormones. We gave her everything you told us to do.' And Brooke didn't put on a pound, an ounce; she didn't grow an inch."[/offsite:2lg5x8nz]
The article goes on for four pages.
Fucking amazing.