Woman, 46, with rare ‘Benjamin Button’ condition ages eight times faster than normal

A 46-year-old woman has opened up about being ‘lucky to still be here’ living with a condition which sees her age eight times faster than normal.

Tiffany Wedekind from Columbus, Ohio was diagnosed with a condition nicknamed the ‘Benjamin Button’ disease in her late twenties.

The condition is typically diagnosed in people’s childhoods and many don’t survive past the age of 13.

Tiffany’s diagnosis

Despite being smaller than her friends and having a higher pitched voice, Tiffany didn’t notice anything drastically different growing up until she started losing her hair and teeth in her early twenties.

She went to the doctor and a DNA sample was taken which confirmed she has a condition called progeria – also known as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) or the ‘Benjamin Button’ disease.

But rather than the condition mirroring Benjamin Button’s age reversing backwards in the 2008 movie, Tiffany’s age is sped up to eight times that of the average person.

What is Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome?

WebMD explains: “It’s a rare genetic condition that results in a child’s body aging rapidly. A mutation in the LMNA gene causes progeria. Most kids with progeria don’t live past age 13.

“The disease affects people of all sexes and races equally. About one in every four million babies are born with it worldwide.

“A single mistake in a certain gene causes it to make an abnormal protein. When cells use this protein, called progerin, they break down more easily. This leads kids with progeria to age quickly.”

There’s currently no cure for progeria however ‘treatments can help ease or delay some of the disease’s symptoms’.

And while most are diagnosed with the condition in childhood and many ‘don’t live past the age of 13,’ Tiffany was diagnosed in her twenties and is believed to be the oldest known survivor of the disease.

How Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome impacts Tiffany

She told Metro: “I age much quicker than everyone else and to be honest, I’m not sure why I’ve lived so long and outlived other people with progeria. I think it might be because I take good care of myself.”

In a bid to stay as healthy as possible, Tiffany is ‘very active,’ doing yoga, taking bike rides and eating ‘healthily’ too.

“I am blessed to be here and I’m doing everything I can to give myself the best chance. I saw how my brother struggled (with progeria) and how quickly things changed with him, so I live with a positive mindset.”

Indeed, Tiffany’s brother Chad was diagnosed with progeria too around the same time as her however sadly he passed away in 2012 from complications related to the condition.

Tiffany is now taking a new drug called Lornafarnib which will hopefully help to slow down the aging process, the drug reportedly nearly set to be approved as the first-ever treatment for progeria.

She resolved: “I do my best to stay healthy because I am very lucky to still be here. My mindset is that I could be gone at any moment and I’m just trying my best to enjoy the life I have.

“[…] I am living life to the full while I can because I have seen how short life can be. I am amazed I am still here so I am treating my life like my playground.”