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The child that does not age.

Girl Who Does Not Age, Brooke Greenberg Baffles Doctors - ABC News

Quote:

"Why doesn't she age?" Howard Greenberg, 52, asked of his daughter. "Is she the fountain of youth?"

Such questions are why scientists are fascinated by Brooke. Among the many documented instances of children who fail to grow or develop in some way, Brooke's case may be unique, according to her doctor, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine pediatrician Lawrence Pakula, in Baltimore.

"Many of the best-known names in medicine, in their experience ... had not seen anyone who matched up to Brooke," Pakula said. "She is always a surprise."

Watch "20/20" FRIDAY at 10 p.m. ET for Brooke's story.

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.

In a recent paper for the journal "Mechanisms of Ageing and Development," Walker and his co-authors, who include Pakula and All Children's Hospital (St. Petersburg, Fla.) geneticist Maxine Sutcliffe chronicled a baffling range of inconsistencies in Brooke's aging process. She still has baby teeth at 16, for instance. And her bone age is estimated to be more like 10 years old.

"There've been very minimal changes in Brooke's brain," Walker said. "Various parts of her body, rather than all being at the same stage, seem to be disconnected."

Brooke's mother, Melanie Greenberg, 48, sees a different picture. "She loves to shop," Greenberg said. "Just like a woman."

Brooke rides in a stroller while her mom shops for clothes in the infant sections of department stores near their home in a Baltimore suburb. That Brooke is in her mid-teens is so mind-boggling that if another mother with a toddler asks Greenberg how old Brooke is, she usually doesn't try to explain.

"My system always has been to turn years into months," Greenberg said. "So, if someone asked today, I might say, she's 16 months old."

Those diaper bills must be horrible :p

but wow at those pictures, watching the younger sister grow up while the older sister just stays the same.

Wow, that's pretty mind blowing...

I can't even imagine what that would be like to live with. Of course, being that she has the brain capacity of a toddler, I bet she really doesn't understand it either...

I was about to ask what she knows of her own condition, but after a re-read, it is apparent that she is not keenly aware (due to her mind perhaps aging in the same manner as her stature of that of a toddler).

I would've thought this was an amazing feat of weird science if she was over 50 years old, yet still maintained a facade of youthful appearance. I was a bit off-base in that the child has a slower metabolic aging process. Still extraordinary, though.

Wow thats crazy, I wonder if she suffers any. Like does she have any physical conditions at all or is she just like a normal toddler.

the curious case of brooke greenburg perhaps?

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.

so if parts of her are aging faster than others, could she end up with larger parts that won't quite fit and be all disfigured?

i don't know if i feel worse for her or her family who has to take care of her and deal with her.

wow, that is crazy. I have this on going joke with my husband and punk.of.ages about how I wish I could keep my daughter from getting older. Now seeing the reality of that, I would be scared to death if that happened to my babies. Not knowing how long she will live and not knowing what other health problems are bound to happen. Puts things in perspective.