Brooke Greenberg should be celebrating her milestone 20th birthday this year. But, sadly, she won’t be able to participate in the festivities. Brooke suffers from a mysterious illness doctors have named “Syndrome X,” because there are only three known cases of it in the entire world. Basically, though her chronological age is 20, Brooke’s body looks like that of 5 year old child.
And, to complicate her condition, different parts of her body are aging at different rates. Her brain is similar to a newborn baby’s; her bones resemble a 10 year old child’s bones; and she still has her baby teeth. Brooke has had to endure a multitude of serious medical conditions during her life, including a stroke, brain tumors, and seizures.
Doctors are still trying to figure out why this is happening to Brooke, but at least some good can come out of her situation. According to one of her doctors, Syndrome X is providing unique opportunities for doctors to learn more about the process of aging.