After ‘Paa’, brothers suffering from progeria promised aid

PATNA - Ikramul Khan and Ali Hussain, two brothers in a Bihar village suffering from progeria, a disease that accelerates the ageing process, have now been promised help by the state government after Amitabh Bachchan-starrer “Paa” highlighted the illness.

“The state government will help in their treatment and will also provide financial assistance to them soon,” said state Health Minister Nand Kishore Yadav.

The progeria patients are residents of Dumri village in Saran district of Bihar. Ikramul and Ali’s faces and bodies show symptoms of progeria, and they look middle-aged despite being in their early twenties.

Their parents had been finding it difficult to provide for the costly medical treatment even though a Kolkata-based doctor had helped the family by providing healthcare nearly five years ago.

The promise of help comes a week after their plight was highlighted thanks to “Paa”, a film where Amitabh plays a 13-year-old boy suffering from progeria.

In fact, the brothers had earlier said that their last wish was to meet the Bollywood megastar and thank him for creating awareness about the disease.

Doctors have told their parents that their sons have no chance of living beyond their early twenties. Their three elder daughters - Guriya, Rehana and Rubina — too died of progeria at 17, 24 and 13 years of age, respectively.

Ikramul’s mother Razia Khatoon says that her family is cursed as five of her eight children suffered from progeria.