Girl Who Doesn't Age - The Curious Case of .. Brooke Greenberg
Years Pass, but Brooke Greenberg Remains a Toddler. No One Can Explain How or Why
Brooke Greenberg is the size of an infant, with the mental capacity of a toddler.
She turned 16 in January.
"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."
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.
Watch Brooke's story on "20/20" FRIDAY at 10 p.m. ET.
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."
Read the whole story
By @Corentin
Views: 37
Comment
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Comment by Lacey McDaniel on August 8, 2009 at 2:19am -
i may have an idea why shes not growing i dont know if the doctors have thought of this but at the bottom of her brain there is a cell that makes you grow idk what it is called but maybe somthing happened to that cell
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Comment by SEXY NESHA on June 25, 2009 at 5:52pm -
WTF???
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Comment by osixx on June 25, 2009 at 10:33am -
can she talk?
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Comment by hidro on June 25, 2009 at 6:05am -
damn can she talk ?
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Comment by killer cleve on June 25, 2009 at 4:36am -
word thats crazy!
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Comment by MYSTRY on June 25, 2009 at 1:14am -
SPEECHLESS
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Comment by Chris on June 25, 2009 at 12:35am -
thats crazyy
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Comment by PENUTBUTTA on June 25, 2009 at 12:27am
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To the idiot, Mudafuker, you must a sick ass person to say that about this indiviudal. I am not one to cuss but being a person that works in the social services field I must advocate for her. People, no excuse me, ass holes like you keep ignorance alive and that is why people continue to struggle with others that are different. Stupidity is disease and the only cure is knowledge. When you see situations like this you need to be thanking God that you are healthy and not having to struggle or suffer with disabilities (it could have been you).
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Comment by jBrizzle on June 24, 2009 at 11:38pm -
Wow If your going to actually take the time to comment at least make it worth reading.
I'm not always right and my opinions might be harsh but it's something thought before just speaking. 'mudafucker' u should be hung! That's on my life!
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Comment by Caprice Mack on June 24, 2009 at 10:42pm -
wow!!!!!!!
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