Page 1 of 2

The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 12:56 am
by Tsukiyumi
Doctors Baffled, Intrigued by Girl Who Doesn't Age

Years Pass, but Brooke Greenberg Remains a Toddler. No One Can Explain How or Why.

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

She turned 16 in January.

At 16, Brooke is old enough to drive, but still rides in a car seat.

"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.

"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.

In a recent paper for the journal "Mechanisms of Ageing and Development," Walker and his co-authors, who include Pakula and All Children's Hospital (St. Petersburg, Fla.) geneticist Maxine Sutcliffe chronicled a baffling range of inconsistencies in Brooke's aging process. She still has baby teeth at 16, for instance. And her bone age is estimated to be more like 10 years old.

"There've been very minimal changes in Brooke's brain," Walker said. "Various parts of her body, rather than all being at the same stage, seem to be disconnected."

Brooke's mother, Melanie Greenberg, 48, sees a different picture. "She loves to shop," Greenberg said. "Just like a woman."

Brooke rides in a stroller while her mom shops for clothes in the infant sections of department stores near their home in a Baltimore suburb. That Brooke is in her mid-teens is so mind-boggling that if another mother with a toddler asks Greenberg how old Brooke is, she usually doesn't try to explain.

"My system always has been to turn years into months," Greenberg said. "So, if someone asked today, I might say, she's 16 months old."
Source

That has to be one of the strangest things I've ever heard. :?

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 1:04 am
by RK_Striker_JK_5
I feel... so sorry for the mother. And for Brooke, too.

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 1:48 am
by Mark
Stuck as an eternal baby. What would happen if something happened to her parents?

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:37 am
by stitch626
I wonder what theories there are on what is causing this? I got nothin...

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 2:47 am
by Mark
An ancester was cursed by Hera?

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 3:22 am
by Tsukiyumi
stitch626 wrote:...I got nothin...
Seriously.

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 8:32 am
by Lighthawk
Sucks that even her brain isn't developing...though maybe its for the better. Being stuck an infant for life...

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 9:12 am
by Vic
Um, hi my name is Vic, is this the Twighlight Zone? That is.......disturbing. :?

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 11:47 am
by Sionnach Glic
Most likely some form of previously undiscovered developmental failure. She's most certainly aging, she just isn't growing.

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 3:21 pm
by Mikey
Since JH seems to think that certain things are developing, just in an uncoordinated manner, my guess would be some sort of syndrome affecting either DNA or RNA markers, or a change in the composition of her HGH itself.

Of course, my experience in this field is similar to my experience with trapping jackalopes.

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 3:23 pm
by Tsukiyumi
:lol:

Seriously, I'm glad the parents are allowing scientists to do some research; there might be something to this. Who cares if I'm aging, as long as I look like I'm 30? :wink:

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 3:25 pm
by Mikey
I never looked like I was 30. I went straight from my 10th year of being carded directly into being called "sir" by people on the street. :madashell:

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 3:37 pm
by Tsukiyumi
Last time I was carded, I laughed involuntarily. :lol:

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 4:05 pm
by Reliant121
Whether it be fortunate or not, Most people believe me to be around 18/19.

I see potential in this.

Re: The Fountain Of Youth?

Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 4:23 pm
by Mikey
Tsukiyumi wrote:Last time I was carded, I laughed involuntarily. :lol:
I see younger kids complaining about getting carded. If I ever get carded again, I'm gonna buy the guy a drink.