Photos: 15-year-old Indian boy who suffered from rare genetic disorder that made him look 60 years, dies

A 15-year-old boy who suffered from the rare genetic disorder called progeria, died at a hospital in Karimnagar in Telangana, India, on

Tuesday, May 3.

Nihal Shrinivas Bitla was instrumental in

creating awareness about the disorder in India,

and was the face of the Progeria Research

Foundation’s campaign to detect undiagnosed

children living in India.

Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome, commonly

known as progeria, is an extremely rare

condition where a child ages eight times faster

than normal and hence has a much shorter life

span than children their age. Such children

usually die from a heart attack or stroke.

Nihal and his family, who live in Bhiwandi, were

in Telangana to attend a wedding. As he was

severely dehydrated, the teen was admitted to a

local hospital. Doctors suspect that Nihal’s

hardened arteries, a condition common in the

elderly that restricts blood flow, contributed to

his sudden death.

Dr Parag Tamhankar from National Institute for

Research in Reproductive Health, who had

diagnosed Nihal when he was 10, said the boy

appeared like a 60-year-old despite his age.

Nihal was brought to him with complaints of

stiffness of bones and wrinkles all over his

face.

In 2014, Nihal along with three-year-old Ishan,

another child with Progeria from Satara, went

to Boston, US, to undergo a clinical trial of a

cancer drug meant to slow accelerated ageing.

In December 2015, Bollywood actor and producer

Aamir Khan made Nihal's dream come true by

meeting him. The youngster who received gifts

from Khan said he made him feel "optimistic"

about life.

Aamir Khan met Bitla following a Facebook post,

where it was mentioned that the latter wanted

to meet him. After their meeting, Nihal posted

on Facebook photos writing:

"Thank you Aamir uncle for making my dream

come true. Your Taare Zameen Par always

inspired me to face adverse situations and I was

always knew that one day I will meet you."

Source: Hindustan Times

Photo credit: Facebook