The "Real Life Benjamin Buttons"-Kennedi Mayes

A case of two brothers mentally aging backwards has been brought to the attention of the media recently. Matthew and Michael Clark are both middle aged English men who have been diagnosed with a terminal type of leukodystrophy, which is a very rare genetic disease that attacks very vital parts of the nervous system and brain. A few years ago, they were both fully functioning men with growing families. Now, they’re in the care of their parents and spend their days having childish fights and playing with toys as if they were 7 years old. Because of the fact that they live in England, their chances of being able to stop or slow down their deterioration are hindered due to the fact that they don’t have the same genetic institutions as the U.S., available to them.

It’s really sad that a disease this twisted exists. It would be the weirdest thing to see my dad acting like he was 5 years old. It’d make me sad to know that one day he may lose his self so much that he wouldn't even recognize me anymore. I hope some solution can be established to help this family, especially since they’re getting so much attention. For all of the families that live in the U.S. and have to face this disease and others similar to it, hopefully the problem can be caught in the early stages and reversed. Maybe this will spark researchers to dig deeper and try to find some kind of cure to this strange disease.

My Source:

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/real-benjamin-buttons-brothers-matthew-michael-clark-aging-193400085.html