Specific Purpose Statement: At the end of my speech, my audience will be familiar with the extremely rare aging disease known as Progeria.
Introduction:
I. Imagine for a second that you are 10 years old.
A. Your friends call you up to go out and play but you can't because you have a painful case of arthritis that hurts with every step you take.
B. Or, your chronic heart disease enables you from being able to breathe easily.
C. These conditions are just a few that a child with Progeria may suffer from.II. Progeria, also known as Hutchinson-Gilford Syndrome, is an extremely rare aging disease that causes a child to age up to eight times faster than normal.
A. I first became interested in Progeria a few years ago when I saw an episode on a talk show dedicated to this rare disease.
B. I have been fascinated with Progeria ever since and have done a lot of research on this topic.
C. I even wrote a research paper on this rare condition last year.III. So today in my speech, I will inform you of the many signs and symptoms that an individual with Progeria suffers from, the suspected cause, and an important organization that supports children and their families afflicted with Progeria.
Body:
I. Jonathon Hutchinson first acknowledged Progeria in 1886.
A. Six years later in a published medical article, Hastings Gilford affirmed the disease and coined it with the term Progeria, meaning "before old age."II. In the beginning, Progeria was studied as a disease that included the process of normal aging, just at an incredible rate.B. Gilford provided no photographs of the disorder and indicated that only two people had been afflicted with progeria so far.
A. This is now known to no longer be true because Progeria does not affect all of the body's organs.III. The cause of this rare disorder is not yet fully understood.B. For instance, there is no evidence of aging in the central nervous system.
C. A few are mentally retarded, but most have normal intelligence and may even be advanced.
D. A child with Progeria is just a normal seven-year-old in a 70-year-old body!
A. According to a Progeria web site, it explains the potential cause as being inherited as a series of mistakes in the DNA which cause aging in the individual even before birth.IV. Like I mentioned earlier, individuals with Progeria appear normal at birth.B. Most "normal" cells are designed to divide very rapidly, although some cells do die during development.
C. In individuals with Progeria, the cells have an increased rate of aging and death, which result in the rapid aging of the body.
A. It is not until about the age of one that signs become evident.V. According to the Hutchinson-Gilford entry of the Electronic Textbook of Internal Medicine, there are many signs to detect the presence of Progeria.B. Growth is extremely stunted, and they may only reach the height of a normal two or three-year-old.
C. It is very unlikely that they will grow taller than a normal five-year-old will, even though they have the physical characteristics of a 60-year-old.
A. These signs include: (visual aide) baldness, prominent scalp veins, beaked nose, receding chin, prominent eyes, a narrow chest, a protruding abdomen, an enlargement of the spleen, and the absence of eyebrows and lashes.VI. Individuals with Progeria often develop diseases related to aging, such as arthritis and heart disease.B. The sex organs also remain small and underdeveloped, and they are not able to reproduce.
C. They often have relatively large heads with small faces and crowded irregular teeth.
VII. I'm now going to show you a clip from a movie called "Aurora Encounter."
A. It is a movie about an "alien" from the moon that lands his spacecraft near the town Aurora.B. In this particular scene, this "alien" is playing checkers with a drunken man and sees himself in a mirror for the first time.
C. A boy named Mickey Hayes plays this "alien".
D. Mickey Hayes has Progeria. (play clip)
E. I couldn't find any information on Mickey Hayes, but I do know that he has died since this movie was made in 1987.VIII. Most Progeria patients die by the time they are 30 years old, often from diseases that are associated with people that are decades older.
A. The age of death usually ranges from seven to 27.5 years, with the average death at age 13.4.IX. Progeria is extremely rare.B. By about 10 years old, heart disease has likely developed.
C. Death is often due to stroke or a heart attack.
D. Another common cause of death is angina pectoris, which is a condition in which there is a sudden decrease of blood in the heart muscle.
A. It occurs in one out of every four million births.X. There is no cure for Progeria, but there are organizations that support these children and their families.B. There have been approximately 100 cases of the disease since it was first acknowledged in 1886.
C. There is only 17 individuals alive today known to have Progeria.
A. One such organization is the Sunshine Foundation.B. It helps to grant the dreams and wishes of children with chronic and terminal diseases.
C. According to the Sunshine Foundation home page, this organization has granted over 23,500 dreams and wishes for less fortunate children since 1976.
D. Each year the Sunshine Foundation sponsors a Progeria Reunion that allows the opportunity for individuals and their families to meet and get to know other people who are experiencing the trials and triumphs of living with Progeria.Conclusion:
I. In my speech, I have informed you of the extremely rare aging disease known as Progeria.
A. I have made you aware of the signs and symptoms, the projected cause, its occurrence, and an organization that benefits children with Progeria.II. I hope you now have appreciation for this disease and I thank you for your time.