A girl with the body of a 150-year-old woman died in the Philippines

The girl, who was called the oldest woman in Asia, died at the age of 19 from a rare disease — her body was aging ten times faster than usual. Ana Rochelle Pondare from the Philippines died last week, according to the American charity Progeria Research Foundation (Progeria Research Foundation), which advocates for people who suffer from this disease. Two years before her death, doctors noted that Ana looked like a 136-year—old woman with pronounced wrinkles all over her body - from her face to her feet.

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Source: Daily Mail

Hutchinson-Guilford syndrome, or progeria, causes the body to age eight times faster than normal. A typical cause of death of a sufferer with such a disease is a heart attack or stroke.

But despite the life difficulties caused by the disease, Ana lived one hundred percent. On her 18th birthday, she arranged a themed "party for princesses" with a throne and multiple disguises. She even met her idol — Filipino singer, actress and TV star Sarah Geronimo. Sarah thanked the girl for the joy and hope she brings.

"I'm not a full-fledged girl. The doctors said I was aging too fast and my life was short, in 15 years I would be gone," Ana said in an interview with CNN iReport in 2011. Surgeon Pierre R. Clerault helped Anya prolong her life by developing a special diet and skin creams for her.

Ana managed to finish only one class of high school, where she was teased. One boy called her a demon. But Anya still liked going to school, despite the obstacles, and she dropped out only because her mother could no longer pay for tuition. Ana began to help her mother sell clothes, handicrafts and fruits on the streets of Plaridel in the province of Bulacan.

According to the Progeria Research Foundation, there are 80 children in the world who suffer from this disease, and two of them live in the Philippines. The disease is caused by the malignant protein progerin, which sticks to the cell walls.