Sammy Basso at the marathon in Venice two years ago.Bild: www.imago-images.de
Italy mourns Sammy Basso, the longest survivor of the rare genetic disease progeria. The biologist died on Saturday at the age of 28 after visiting a restaurant.
Born in Schio in the northern Italian province of Vicenza in 1995, Basso was diagnosed with progeria at the age of two. In 2005 he and his parents founded the “Italian Progeria Association Sammy Basso” (Aiprosab).
Basso completed his studies in natural sciences at the University of Padua in 2018 with a thesis on therapies to slow the progression of his disease. He lived in Tezze sul Brenta (Vicenza). The biologist became famous through the National Geographic documentary “Sammy’s Journey”. In it he tells about his journey through the United States that Sammy took with his parents and one of his best friends from Chicago to Los Angeles. Basso also appeared frequently on Italian television.
Progeria, also known as Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome (HGPS), causes people to age quickly and appear physically older than their actual age. They have a reduced quality of life and, without treatment, a life expectancy of only 13.5 years. Disease-related aging, which begins in childhood, is caused by gene mutations. The disease affects one in eight million people at birth. (rbu/sda/apa)
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