Bangladesh Child Aged 4 Appears Ancient with Swollen Face, Sagging Skin

The swollen face and wrinkled skin make ‘Bayezid’ of Khalia village in Magura’s Mohammadpur look ancient.

The condition resembles the plot of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, where Brad Pitt's character is born as an old man and ages in reverse, growing younger throughout the Hollywood film.

The family says he was born like an old man and the old-age signs have grown over the years.

They have taken him to several doctors, but to no avail.

The doctors suspect Bayezid suffers from a rare genetic disease that makes him appear as though he has aged prematurely.

His grandfather Hashem Shikdar says he had his son Lablu Shikdar married to a cousin when he was 18. Bayezid was born the next year.

“He had no skin when he was born. People used to be horrified seeing him. He looked like an 80-year old man who has been ravaged by diseases,” Hashem says.

The inexplicable illness is causing Bayezid’s skin to sag a little further down with every passing day.

The child has been taken to doctors in Magura, Faridpur and other nearby districts, but no-one could diagnose his disease.

The desperate grandfather has solicited help to get the child treated properly.

Magura Sadar Hospital’s medicine consultant Debashish Biswas thinks the problem is genetic.

“This is probably the first such case in our country. Another child was found to be affected by Progeria, or premature ageing. It was ageing fast a month since its birth,” he said.

“But Bayezid’s parents are saying he was born like this,” Dr Biswas says.

“This case needs some high-level research.”

Heartbroken father Lablu said Bayezid’s mental growth is like any normal child despite his appearance.

“He moves, eats, talks like other children of his age. He has a good memory,” Lablu said.

He said he thought his son would recover from the disease if he received proper treatment.

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