Approximately 35% of the factors that influence life expectancy are inherited. Accelerated aging is therefore usually associated with genetic abnormalities. None of the accelerated aging syndromes, however, leads to a uniform, systematic “speeding up” of the aging process. A number of genetic disorders can lead to premature or accelerated aging (also referred to as progerias), including Down syndrome, Hutchinson– Gilford syndrome, and Werner’s syndrome. (more…)
Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome (HGPS) is also known as progeria or progeria of childhood. Unlike Werner Syndrome, which h ...
Cockayne syndrome is caused by the inheritance of genes that are thought to be of special importance in the repair of DNA withi ...
Ataxia-telangiectasia is yet another example of a hutchinson gilford progeria syndrome caused by a deficiency of a gene product ...
Dyskeratosis congenita is of special interest to gerontologists because it is caused by a mutation in the gene coding for the ...
Several gene mutations have been shown to cause Parkinson’s Disease, but they account for a small minority of patients and have n ...