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Doctors Baffled, Intrigued By Girl Who Doesn't Age

Posted by kdawson on from the fountain-of-youth-or-maybe-it's-a-cataract dept.

phyrebyrd writes "Brooke Greenberg is the size of an infant, with the mental capacity of a toddler. She turned 16 in January. 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. Brooke's hair and her nails are the only two things that grow, Howard said. 'She has pajamas and outfits that are 10 or 12 years old,' he said."

4 of 599 comments (clear)

  1. the answer is in the abc article by circletimessquare · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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."

    not that i know a damn thing about endocrinology, but i would speculate that this failed therapy suggest that, as we all have receptors for various hormones, her body has no such receptors for HGH. if someone is born genetically male, but has no male secondary characteristics, then either:
    1. his body produces no testosterone,
    2. his body produces testosterone, but his body doesn't react to it

    i would say that this girl, uh, young woman, has an incredibly rare, unique mutation: insensitivity to human growth hormone. it would explain all of her symptoms

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  2. Another case by polymeris · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There is this girl/woman in Brazil, Maria Aldenete, who has similar syntoms. I couldn't find any info in English on her... She's 30 years old or so.

  3. I've seen this before, sorta... by Yert · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have an aunt who was in her third trimester when she was in a car accident, and Dolly was born soon after with no apparent damage... except she never grew up. Dolly passed away a few years ago, at the age of 33, and weighed about 80 pounds - she did grow "up", but much slower than normal - she was 20 before she weighed 40 pounds, and never spoke a single intelligible word. She never matured mentally beyond around 6 months, and was always in a crib at all the family gatherings. Thankfully, I never had to change her diaper.

    There are some differences, as Dolly did seem to physically mature, just very slowly - but the doctors didn't seem to think it was that phenomenal, just brain damage from the accident. She did have the same odd development that Megan's eyes have - the wandering eye, so to speak. (As opposed to my wandering eye, which is entirely a different sort of affliction.) :)

    --
    Truck driver, plumber, Linux systems engineer.
  4. OK, you 'for the children' obsessives... by argStyopa · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In a couple of years, when she turns 18, would nudes of her be child porn? Eh?

    (listens for the sounds of heads exploding)

    --
    -Styopa