Werner Syndrome Analysis

Werner Syndrome, a type of Progeria, is a rare autosomal recessive disease which is caused by mutations in the WRN gene (“Werner Syndrome,” 2013). In order for someone to acquire Werner Syndrome, both parents must pass on the genetic mutation. Werner Syndrome differs from Progeria because signs are not apparent until puberty, but sometimes as early as age ten. Progeria is normally not diagnosed until a child reaches one and a half years of age (“Progeria: Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS),” 2014). Progeria is also characterized by dwarfism (Keen, A., & Hassan, I., (2012) and do not survive past their thirteenth birthday (“Progeria: Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS),” 2014). Werner Syndrome was discovered by Otto Werner in 1904 (Martin, G. M., Oshima, J., Gray, 1999). Some people prefer to call it ‘The Werner Syndrome’ since Otto Werner did not have the condition, only his patients did (Martin, G. M., Oshima, J., Gray, 1999). Typical signs of Werner Syndrome include cataracts, a bird-like face, rapid aging, a short stature, thinning and graying of hair and skin ulcers (Ajili et al., 2013). Werner Syndrome has always been most prevalent in Japan and since it is a genetic disorder, this trend should not change. Werner Syndrome does exist here in the United States in about …show more content…
It amazes me how a small gene mutation can have such a huge impact on someone’s life. The background image of my mosaic is a Vietnamese woman named Nguyen who has the disease. The before and after images of her are astonishing. It is hard to tell in the mosaic how old she looks but it easy to tell her cheeks are bulged out, she has deep wrinkles where her face creases when she smiles, and she just looks miserable. I could not find many other before and after cases, so I decided to use a photo of her as my background